Confusion prevails on new Iran sanctions

Luxembourg: The European Union on Monday said it had agreed on no new sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme, apparently contradicting British and US statements announcing new measures on its financial and energy sectors.

Speaking after talks with President George W. Bush in London, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown earlier announced EU moves to freeze the overseas assets of the biggest bank in Iran and to launch action against Iran's oil and gas industries.

"That's my first choice. Iranians must understand all options are on the table, however," Bush said on the final day of his six-nation visit after talks in London. "Now's the time to work together to get it done."

A British diplomat said the measures had been agreed by EU foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg and would be implemented within days, but an EU spokeswoman said ministers had not even discussed sanctions.

"There was no discussion of sanctions today. I know nothing about that," said Cristina Gallach, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

A spokeswoman for the Slovenian EU presidency also said she was not aware of any agreement on Monday on sanctions.

Earlier, White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley told reporters that EU foreign ministers would announce new sanctions against Iran later on Tuesday.