France and Iran have appointed new ambassadors after both roles were left empty for months. But EU member states are wary of easing diplomatic pressure on Iran, with some taking further measures.
The government named veteran diplomat Philippe Thiebaud (pictured), who once represented France at the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, as its permanent representative in Iran.
France's AFP news agency reported that Iran had tapped Bahram Ghasemi, spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, as its ambassador to France, another post left empty since the summer.
Iran's choice is a controversial one. Ghasemi, who previously served as ambassador to Italy and Spain, had earlier this week credited Lebanese militant group Hezbollah with preventing terrorist groups from reaching Europe. Hezbollah's military wing is considered a terrorist group by the EU.
The US serves as a cornerstone of global trade and sometimes uses this position to punish rival nations. DW looks into key restrictions that Washington currently imposes on Iran, Cuba, Russia, North Korea and Syria.
Image: Imago
Iran
US sanctions on Iran target Tehran's trade in gold and precious metals, block the sales of passenger jets and restrict Iran's purchase of US dollars, among other punitive measures. The US has also blocked Iran's key oil sales in a further tranche of sanctions, which came into force in November 2018.
Impoverished North Korea is under a UN-backed embargo, but Washington also maintains an extensive regime of sanctions of its own. For example, the US strictly bans exporting weapons to the pariah state. Washington also uses its global clout to penalize non-US banks and companies that do business with Pyongyang.
Image: AFP/Getty Images/S. Marai
Syria
Washington trade restrictions prevent the regime of President Bashar Assad from exporting Syrian oil to the US. All property and assets of the Syrian government in the US have been frozen. Americans, wherever in the world they might be, are banned from "new investment" in the war-torn country, according to the US Treasury.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/G. Esiri
Russia
The US blacklisted scores of high-ranking Russian officials and businessmen after the 2014 Crimea crisis, stopping them from traveling to the US and freezing their assets. The comprehensive sanctions list includes goods from the Russian-annexed region, such as wine. New sanctions imposed in the aftermath of the Skripal poisoning in March 2018 target sensitive national security and defense goods.
Image: Imago
Cuba
American tourists began flocking to Cuba immediately after the Obama administration initiated a thaw in relations in 2016. Under Donald Trump, however, the White House reimposed travel restrictions for US citizens, making it much harder for Americans to travel to the island. At least one Obama-era concession is still in place, however: it is still legal to bring Cuban cigars and rum to the US.
