Britain published new legislation Tuesday expanding its sanctions regime against Iran, adding trade restrictions and enforcement powers targeting shipping as part of a broader push against Tehran’s nuclear program and other activities London views as destabilizing.
Under the measures, Iran’s access to Britain’s financial system will be further curtailed, additional categories of goods, technology and services will fall under trade bans, and Iranian aircraft will generally be barred from landing in the UK unless specific exemptions apply. The legislation also extends authorities’ powers to act against ships suspected of involvement in prohibited activity.
Foreign office minister Stephen Doughty said in a written statement that the changes build on Britain’s existing efforts to limit Iran’s nuclear ambitions, framing the goal as ensuring Tehran is never able to obtain a nuclear weapon. Iran’s embassy in London had not responded to the announcement as of Tuesday.
The move comes as Britain works to sharpen its enforcement tools around Iran sanctions more broadly, and follows a pattern of Western governments tightening restrictions on Tehran amid the ongoing six-month conflict between Iran and the United States. It was not immediately clear when the new rules would take effect or how enforcement would be coordinated with existing measures already in place against Iranian trade and finance.
