Sanctions ‘will push Iran into talks’

Tough new oil-based sanctions should force Iran back to the negotiating table, William Hague said yesterday after the UK indicated it could increase its military force in the Gulf if the situation escalated.

The Foreign Secretary stressed that Britain did not want to resolve the dispute over Iran’s nuclear ambitions by force, despite threats by Tehran to block a key shipping route. An EU-wide block on imported Iranian oil agreed yesterday was designed “to lead us away from any conflict by increasing the pressure for a peaceful settlement of these disputes”, Mr Hague said.

But, responding to fears raised in the Commons by Tory MP Robert Halfon that war looked “increasingly likely”, he acknowledged that all options remained on the table.

Mr Hague told reporters the sanctions represented “a significant increase in peaceful and legitimate pressure on the Iranian government to return to negotiations”.