Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

It is important to make the point that when sanctions were agreed, particularly when the crude oil sanction was agreed, its application was not applied immediately. It was decided to apply it from 1 July and the purpose of that was to encourage Iran to engage seriously in E3+3 talks. If there is serious engagement at the E3+3 talks and satisfactory progress is being made on them, then the sanctions can either be eased or withdrawn. The only purpose of the sanctions is to cause Iran to engage seriously in those negotiations. We believe that the Iran nuclear issue can only be resolved by negotiation and agreement but it requires Iran engaging in a meaningful way, not just turning up and engaging in process talk and spinning it out. There must be a real meaningful engagement. There is a willingness on the EU's part to engage seriously and meaningfully in those talks. If sufficient and satisfactory progress is made, then sanctions can either be relaxed or withdrawn.

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