66In so far as it has been indicated in paragraph 63 above that the criteria thus defined in Article 23(2)(a), (b) and (d) of Regulation No 267/2012 and in Article 20(1)(b) and (c) of Decision 2010/413 were alternative criteria, it is necessary, first of all, to specify to what extent, in those provisions, the criterion of support to the Government of Iran may be distinguished from the criterion of support for nuclear proliferation. In that regard, it must be borne in mind that the latter criterion implies that the existence of a direct or indirect link is established between the activities of the person or entity concerned and nuclear proliferation. The criterion of support to the Government of Iran, which extends the scope of the restrictive measures in order to reinforce the pressure being brought to bear on the Islamic Republic of Iran, covers any activity of the person or entity concerned which, regardless of any direct or indirect link established with nuclear proliferation, is capable, by its quantitative or qualitative significance, of encouraging that proliferation, by providing the Government of Iran with support in the form of resources or facilities of a material, financial or logistical nature which allow it to pursue nuclear proliferation. The existence of a link between the provision of such support to the Government of Iran and the pursuit of nuclear proliferation activities is thus presumed by the applicable legislation, which is aimed at depriving the Government of Iran of its sources of revenue, in order to oblige it to end the development of its nuclear proliferation programme as a result of insufficient financial resources.
Source: EUR-Lex, © European Union, 1998-2026. Reuse authorised under Decision 2011/833/EU.