UK Publishes Legislation to Impose Tougher Sanctions on Iran

Britain published legislation on Tuesday to introduce tougher sanctions on Iran as part of an effort to curb Tehran's nuclear program and other hostile activities. The proposed measures would restrict Iran's access to the British financial system, broaden trade bans on goods, technology, and services, and prohibit Iranian aircraft from landing in Britain unless exemptions apply. Once approved by parliament, the legislation would restore sectoral restrictions that were previously lifted under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

These measures follow a snapback process triggered in August of last year by Britain, France, and Germany after they stated that Tehran failed to address concerns regarding its nuclear program. Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty stated that the legislation doubles down on actions to constrain Iran's nuclear ambitions. Doughty noted that Iran has accumulated more than 400 kg of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity, making it the only country without nuclear weapons to have enriched uranium to that level.

Iran maintains that its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes. The legislation includes specific licenses to ensure that the BP operated Shah Deniz gas field in Azerbaijan continues to run despite an Iranian stake in the consortium, a carve out that Britain says matches exemptions used by the US and EU. The reports also note that the United States and Israel launched military strikes on Iran in February partly due to nuclear concerns.