EU court annuls freezing of funds of 7 Iranian banks and firms

The European Court of Justice Friday ruled that the European Union should lift sanctions on seven Iranian companies and one Iranian individual as there was insufficient evidence that they were involved in nuclear proliferation activities. The Luxembourg-based court in a press release noted the persons and entities in the cases before the Court had been designated by decisions of the EU as having been involved in Iran's nuclear programme, and their their funds were frozen. "By its judgments, delivered today, the General Court has annulled the acts of the (EU) Council in so far as they concern some of the applicants," it said. With regard to Post Bank Iran, Iran Insurance Company, Good Luck Shipping and Export Development Bank of Iran, the Court ruled that the EU Council has not proved the facts of which it accuses those four companies and that the Council could not, therefore, properly establish that they had provided support for nuclear proliferation. The Court has also annulled the freezing of funds on Mr. Bateni, Persia International Bank and Iranian Offshore Engineering Construction Co. In each of those cases, the Court found that the Council made an error of assessment inasmuch as the facts and evidence on which it relied. The court, however, ruled that Bank Melli Iran and Europaeisch-Iranische Handelsbank (European- Iranain Trade Bank ) remain on the list of those whose funds are frozen.