European Union foreign ministers have called on Iran to cease its disruption of European satellite transmissions.

Iran has been jamming radio and television signals from Europe since the end of 2009. The BBC, Deutsche Welle and Radio Netherlands Worldwide have all been affected. Iran has also blocked its citizen's access to the internet.

The EU ministers, whose action was initiated by departing Dutch foreign minister Maxime Verhagen, say they are prepared to take action if Iran does not comply with their request. They said they were determined to ensure Iran lived up to its commitments to the International Telecommunications Union.

In a statement released in Brussels they said, "the European Union expresses its grave concern over measures taken by the Iranian authorities to prevent its citizens from freely communicating and receiving information through TV, radio satellite broadcasting and the Internet".