Australia expands sanctions against Iran

Australia imposed expanded sanctions on Iran as concerns escalated over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program.

Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said Tuesday that the new measures restrict business with the petroleum and financial sectors in Iran.

“Iran must take steps required by the U.N. Security Council and the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] and engage constructively with the international community on its nuclear program,” he said.

The new sanctions come two days after the governing Labor Party’s national conference, which passed a resolution stating that “Labor also calls on Iran to cease support for terrorism and desist from its calls for and efforts towards the destruction of Israel.”

Last month, Britain, Canada, the United States and the European Union added fresh sanctions on Tehran after the publication of a damning U.N. report, which Iran’s ayatollahs dismissed as baseless.

Rudd said that “Australia is committed to a negotiated solution of the Iran nuclear issue.”