The US, Britain and Canada announced new sanctions on Iran's energy and financial sectors. But what exactly are the sanctions and how long have they been going on? Here's a brief timeline:
BRITAIN: (BBC)
January 2009: The British Council, which had been operating intermittently in Iran since 1961, says it suspended operations in Tehran.
September 2009: Iran admits building a uranium enrichment plant near Qom.
November 2010: Four people said by Iran to be terrorists with links to Britain are arrested according to the country's English language television station Press TV. The Foreign Office denied the men had ties to Britain.
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21 November, 2011: British Chancellor George Osborne announces financial sanctions against Iran.
27 November, 2011: The Iranian parliament votes to expel the British ambassador in Tehran.
29 November, 2011: Iranian protesters storm the UK embassy in Tehran.
US SANCTIONS: (Reuters)
1979: Initial sanctions were imposed after Iranian students stormed the US embassy and took diplomats hostage. This involved an import ban on most Iranian goods.
1995: US companies prevented from investing in Iranian oil and gas and trading with Iran.
October 2007: Washington imposed sanctions on three Iranian banks.
June 24, 2010: Congress approved tough new unilateral sanctions on aimed at squeezing Iran's energy and banking sectors.
June 11, 2011: The US announced new sanctions applicable to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Basij Resistance Force, Iran's Law Enforcement Forces and its commander.
November 21, 2011: the US named Iran as an area of "primary money laundering concern," a step designed to dissuade non-US banks from dealing with it.
UN SANCTIONS: (Reuters)
The Security Council has imposed sanctions on Iran four times -- in December 2006, March 2007, March 2008 and June 2010. They included freezing assets of Iranian individuals and companies linked with the nuclear program; arms and financial sanctions; and increased travel curbs.
September 2008: The Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution again ordering Iran to halt enrichment, which Iran disregarded.
June 9, 2010: A Security Council resolution was passed calling for measures against new Iranian banks abroad if they had suspected links to nuclear or missile programs.
OTHER COUNTRIES:
CANADA: Canada announced on November 21 it would immediately ban the export to Iran of all goods used in the petrochemical, oil and gas industry, as part of an international sanctions package, reported Reuters.
SWITZERLAND: Added five people and 111 organisations to its list of Iranian entities under sanction on November 18. Earlier sanctions included a ban on certain financial transactions and Swiss companies selling or delivering so-called dual use goods.
