Switzerland Tightens Restrictions On Iranian Oil

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The government has decided to tighten economic sanctions against Tehran, but stopped short of implementing a ban on trading Iranian oil to match an embargo by the European Union or other measures by the United States.

Switzerland’s new set of sanctions, to come into force on July 6, include a ban on supplying equipment for the petrochemical industry and telecommunications as well as the purchase and sale of precious metals and diamonds by the Iranian state authorities.

The rules governing the transfer of funds to cash transactions will also be tightened, according to a statement by the foreign ministry on Thursday.

“The current lists of dual-use goods whose export to Iran is prohibited or subject to authorisation have been modified. Financial sanction have been imposed against 78 individuals accused of serious human rights violations,” the statement says.

However, the government decided against an outright ban on trading Iranian oil, citing “foreign policy reasons”.

Switzerland has been representing US interest in Tehran for more than 30 years. As part of its good offices, Switzerland has also tried to mediate unofficially in the long-standing dispute over Iran’s disputed nuclear programme.

A foreign ministry spokesman told the Swiss News Agency that Switzerland had every interest in keeping good relations with Iran.

Hub

Switzerland stopped importing crude oil from Iran six years ago but correspondents say it is one of the top hubs for physical oil trading and hosts a branch of the National Iranian Oil Company, Nico.

The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (Seco) declined to details on business activities, but it pointed out that they are in line with EU sanctions.

Brussels imposed a ban on the import, purchase or shipping of Iranian oil from July 1. Washington for its part has also tightened its sanctions against Tehran.

The US ambassador to Switzerland, Donald Beyer, in June reportedly said that the US was disappointed that the traditionally neutral country had not adopted the EU embargo, adding that he did not expect Swiss authorities to permit the evasion of sanctions.

Switzerland is not a member of the EU, but it has close economic ties with 27-nation bloc.

As part of the extended Swiss sanctions, the import, purchase, sale and shipment of crude oil, petroleum, petrochemical products as well as related financial and insurance transactions must be declared to Seco, in line with restrictive measures taken by the EU.

The Swiss authorities must also be notified of the supply of new bank notes and coins to Iran’s central bank.

“The government said it might take “further measures based on reports received.”

Urs Geiser

SwissInfo

swissinfo is an enterprise of the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). Its role is to inform Swiss living abroad about events in their homeland and to raise awareness of Switzerland in other countries. swissinfo achieves this through its nine-language internet news and information platform.

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