Statement by the Press Secretary on EU actions targeting Iran and Syria

We welcome today’s announcement by the European Union of new economic sanctions and other measures against both Iran and Syria. The United States recently increased our own sanctions on Iran, and today announced additional actions against Syrian officials and entities. These steps signal once again the resolve of the international community to address the assault on the fundamental rights of the Syrian people by the Assad regime, along with the continued failure of the Iranian regime to meet its international obligations. We applaud the EU’s determination to pressure these regimes to end their unacceptable actions, as well as its readiness to consider further steps going forward. The United States has coordinated closely with the EU on both Syria and Iran, most recently at the US-EU Summit that President Obama hosted, and today’s actions underscore how the United States and our European allies are committed to working together on these shared challenges. We look forward to continued coordination with both the European Union and other concerned governments to increase the pressure on both Syria and Iran to ensure that their flagrant violations of international norms comes to an end. As always, we will continue to work with our European allies on behalf of international peace and security, and the universal rights of all human beings.