The sanctions against Iran for its nuclear program that the United States announced in December went into force on Thursday. The European Union stepped up its embargo on oil imports from Iran on Sunday. When the U.S. and the EU first announced the sanctions in December, Iran threatened to block the Hormuz straight, a key oil route. The U.S. demonstrated its power by sending an aircraft carrier through the strait. It is vital that both sides exhibit self-restraint and resolve their differences through diplomatic means.
Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany (P5+1) held their first talks in 15 months in Istanbul in April, followed by similar talks in Baghdad in May and in Moscow on June 18-19. But they could not reach a deal. The P5+1 group is calling on Iran to close its Fordu nuclear site and halt its 20 percent enrichment of uranium since it is easy to move from 20 percent to 90 percent — the level of enrichment that enables the building of an atomic bomb. But Iran insists that its nuclear program is for non-military purposes.
The U.S. has exempted such countries as Japan, China, the EU member countries, India, Malaysia, South Korea, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Taiwan and Singapore from the sanctions that ban purchases of oil from Iran. But banks will be unable to operate in the U.S. if it is determined that they have engaged in transactions with Iran's central bank to arrange for oil purchases from Iran.