Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Tuesday lauded the European Union on Tuesday for ramping up sanctions against Iran, saying such measures were having a strong impact on the Iranian economy.
"I want to commend the EU for the tough sanctions that were adopted yesterday against the greatest threat to peace in our time," Netanyahu said in an address to EU diplomats. "These sanctions are hitting the Iranian economy hard."
EU governments agreed on Monday to further sanctions against major Iranian state companies in the oil and gas industry, and strengthened restrictions on the central bank.
"These sanctions are hitting the Iranian economy hard," Netanyahu added. "We'll know they are achieving their goal when the centrifuges stop spinning and when the Iranian nuclear program is rolled back."
Andrew Standley, the EU ambassador to Israel, said in public remarks at the meeting with Netanyahu that "Iran's nuclear program is a concern not only to Israel but also to the region and the wider international community."
Earlier Tuesday, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman said the new sanctions would not force Tehran back into negotiations with world powers over its nuclear program.
"We think the error in calculation which these countries are pursuing will distance them from a favorable result," said Ramin Mehmanparast, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman. "We recommend that instead of taking the wrong approach and being stubborn and using pressure...with a logical approach they can return to discussions."
The EU agreed further sanctions against Iran's banking, shipping, and industrial sectors on Monday, cranking up financial pressure on Tehran in the hope of drawing it into serious negotiations on its nuclear program.
On Monday night, Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said the move sent a strong message to Tehran that Europe was “not letting Iran off the hook” until it ceased its nuclear march. “This is definitely an important step that sends the right and strong message to the Tehran regime.”
Meanwhile, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said that she hoped turning up the heat on the Islamic Republic would persuade it to make concessions and that negotiations could resume "very soon."
But Mehmanparast rejected that possibility, saying "illogical" and "inhumane" sanctions would only make Iran more determined in its stance. Iran insists it has the right to enrich uranium for power generation or medical purposes, and says its program has no military purpose.
"They don't know the spirit of the Iranian nation," Mehmanparast said. "These steps are mistakes and will have no results for them."
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle was more pessimistic than Ashton about the prospect that additional economic pain might drive Tehran – whose Islamic Revolution has long thrived on defiance of the West – to make concessions.
“Iran is still playing for time,” he told reporters. “We don’t see a sufficient readiness for substantial talks about the nuclear program.”
The new sanctions mark one of the toughest moves against Iran by Europe to date and a significant change of policy for the 27-member bloc, which until now focused on targeting specific people and companies with economic restrictions.