The top US envoy on Iran criticized a European Union decision to give $20.7 million in aid to Tehran on Friday, saying it sent “the wrong message at the wrong time,” and he urged Brussels to help Washington end the Iranian threat to global stability. “Foreign aid from European taxpayers perpetuates the regime’s ability to neglect the needs of its people and stifles meaningful policy changes,” Brian Hook, the US special representative for Iran, said in a statement. “The Iranian people face very real economic pressures caused by their government’s corruption, mismanagement, and deep investment in terrorism and foreign conflicts,” he added. The United States is pressing other countries to comply with its sanctions. Farther-reaching sanctions are to follow in November on Iran’s banking sector and oil exports.

Source: Egypt Independent August 24, 2018 23:26 UTC