EU agrees to ban import of Iranian oil

European Union member states have agreed in principle to ban imports of Iranian crude oil to put pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme.

The move is expected to be announced formally at an EU Foreign Ministers' meeting at the end of January.

The United States, which recently imposed fresh sanctions on Iran, has welcomed the news.

Iran has dismissed the threat of new sanctions and denied Western claims that it is trying to develop a nuclear weapons programme.

Iran has also denied that a record low of its currency this week was linked to punitive U.S. measures against its banks.

French foreign minister Alain Juppe said that an EU Foreign Ministers' meeting will be held on January 30th and on this occasion they will be able to take the decision on the embargo of oil and petrol from Iran.

The Security Council has already passed four rounds of sanctions against Iran for refusing to halt uranium enrichment.