Von der Leyen Says It Is Too Early to Lift Iran Sanctions
Ursula von der Leyen said on Monday that lifting sanctions on Iran would be premature. She made the remarks at a meeting of Germany’s CDU and its Bavarian sister party, the CSU.
According to the European Commission president, the European Union does not consider it appropriate to relax the measures introduced in response to the behavior of the Iranian regime. She stressed that the sanctions are primarily linked to Tehran’s repression of its own population.
She said the sanctions could only be lifted if there were a fundamental change in Iran.
The remarks came amid continuing debate over the European Union’s policy toward Iran. The Commission president confirmed that Brussels sees no reason to change its position and plans to maintain the sanctions regime for the time being.