In the latest attempt to step up pressure on Iran, the European Union adopted an oil embargo against Iran and froze the assets of the country's central bank. Diplomats say all new oil contracts will be embargoed while existing contracts will be allowed to run until July. British Foreign Secretary William Hague called the embargo, designed to stop Iran's nuclear program, part of "an unprecedented set of sanctions.” On Sunday, a U.S. aircraft carrier sailed through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran had threatened to close.
