Britain Rolls Out New Iran Sanctions

Britain and the European Union will slap Iran with a new round of sanctions over its refusal to curtail its nuclear program, PM Gordon Brown announced today, handing President Bush an unexpected farewell gift on the last day of his weeklong European trip. Brown froze the assets of Iran's largest bank as of today, reports the Washington Post; he also pledged about 200 more troops to join the 7,800 British soldiers already in Afghanistan.

The action follows an announcement that the US and EU made last week to push Iran to open its nuclear program to inspections or face financial sanctions. Brown also rejected reports that he planned to withdraw Britain’s remaining troops from Iraq. "There's going to be no artificial timetable,” he said. “And the reason is we're making progress." (More European Union stories.)