US Treasury chief warns of more sanctions on Iran
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned on Tuesday that her agency may impose more sanctions on Iran after its attack on Israel.
“Treasury will not hesitate to work with our allies to use our sanctions authority to continue disrupting the Iranian regime’s malign and destabilising activity,” she told a press conference ahead of the 2024 spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank.
“The attack by Iran and its proxies underscores the importance of Treasury’s work to use our economic tools to counter Iran’s malign activity,” she said.
Yellen noted that the Treasury Department has targeted over 500 individuals and entities connected to terrorism and terrorist financing by the Iranian regime and its proxies since the beginning of the Joe Biden administration, which included targeting Iran’s drone and missile programmes and its financing of Hamas, the Houthis, Hezbollah and Iraqi militia groups.
“From this weekend’s attack (on Israel) to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, Iran’s actions threaten the region’s stability and could cause economic spillovers,” she added.
Iran on Saturday launched an airborne attack on Israel in retaliation for an April 1 airstrike on its diplomatic compound in the Syrian capital. It reportedly fired more than 300 drones and missiles, with almost all intercepted by the air defence systems of Israel and its allies - the US, France and the UK.
US destroys Houthi targets
The US destroyed Houthi targets in Yemen, the United States Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Tuesday.
“Between 10:50am and 11:30am (Sanaa time) on April 16, U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) forces successfully engaged two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVS) in Iranianbacked Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen,” CENTCOM said on X.
There were no injuries or damage reported by US, coalition or commercial ships, it said, adding it determined that the UAVS presented an ‘imminent ‘hreat” to vessels in the region.
Yemen’s Houthi group has been targeting cargo ships in the Red Sea owned or operated by Israeli companies or transporting goods to and from Israel in solidarity with the Gaza Strip, which has been under an Israeli onslaught since October 7 last year.
The Red Sea is one of the world’s most frequently used sea routes for shipment of oil and fuel.