“The imposition of the new [EU] sanctions indicates that the European Union has been insincere and hypocritical in the nuclear negotiations,” said Ismail Kowsari, a member of the Majlis (parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, IRNA reported Friday.
“They claimed that they seek negotiations to reach positive results, but their latest measure proved their hollow commitments to the world,” he added.
He said Iran had suggested the issue of sanctions to be on the agenda of the talks, but the P5+1 avoided addressing the issue, which indicated their pursuit of other objectives in the talks.
On July 1, the European Union (EU) sanctions, adopted under US pressure, against Iran's oil and financial sectors came into effect.
The sanctions prevent all EU member states from purchasing Iran's oil or extending insurance coverage for tankers carrying the Iranian crude.
The US administration in late March approved sanctions on the Iranian crude oil sector, which penalize other countries for buying or selling Iran’s crude oil. The sanctions were scheduled to come into effect on June 28.
This comes as Iran and the P5+1, comprising Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States plus Germany, held an expert-level meeting on July 3 in the Turkish city of Istanbul with the participation of representatives and experts from both sides.
Tehran and the six world powers had agreed to hold the expert-level talks during their negotiations in the Russian capital, Moscow, in June.
At the heart of the Moscow negotiations was Iran’s nuclear energy program, with Tehran reiterating its inalienable right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.
The sanctions by the US and EU are aimed at mounting pressure on the Islamic Republic over its nuclear energy program, which Washington, Israel and some of their allies claim may include a military aspect.
Iran dismisses the allegations, arguing that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it has the right to use the nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
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