U.S., EU expanding sanctions vs Iran
Brussels and Washington are eyeing more restrictions on Iran oil exports
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The US said Tuesday it would soon impose new sanctions on Iran’s missile and drone program after its weekend attack on Israel, and that it expects its allies and partners to follow with parallel measures.
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s announcement came after Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen indicated punitive measures were in the works, and European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said his office was working on it.
Iran sent more than 300 missiles, drones and rockets at Israel over the weekend, in what it said was retaliation for a deadly strike on Tehran’s consulate in Damascus, Syria. Nearly all of the projectiles were intercepted, and there was little damage.
“In the coming days, the United States will impose new sanctions targeting Iran, including its missile and drone program” as well as the Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian defense ministry, Sullivan said in a statement.”
“We anticipate that our allies and partners will soon be following with their own sanctions,” he added.
“These new sanctions and other measures will continue a steady drumbeat of pressure to contain and degrade Iran’s military capacity and effectiveness and confront the full range of its problematic behaviors.”
US authorities have been using economic tools to counter Iran’s activities, taking aim at its drone and missile programs, as well as its financing of groups like Hamas, which launched its own attack on Israel on 7 October.
Earlier, Yellen previewed the sanctions, telling reporters: “Iran’s actions threaten the region’s stability and could cause economic spillovers.”
The Treasury will not hesitate to work with US allies to “use our sanctions authority to continue disrupting the Iranian regime’s malign and destabilizing activity,” she said.
Yellen did not offer specifics on the possible measures to be taken, but said Washington has been working to diminish Iran’s ability to export oil, adding there might be “more that we could do.”
The US is also looking to work with Group of Seven partners and countries including China to constrain Iran’s ability to access goods needed to build weapons, a senior Treasury official told reporters.
“We’re going to have conversations with all major suppliers around the world,” the official said.
In Brussels, Borrell said after an emergency meeting of European Union foreign ministers that some member states had proposed “the adoption of expanded restrictive measures against Iran” and that his office would begin preparatory work.