The US and the European Union (EU) plan to impose new sanctions on Iran over its unprecedented attack on Israel in an effort to deter Israel from launching a major attack, with Israel’s war cabinet announcing a third meeting scheduled for Wednesday, the 17th of April, to decide on a response, reports Reuters.
Saturday night’s attack has heightened fears of a possible open conflict between Iran and Israel, which is emerging from the six-month war in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli military Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi promised to respond to the Iranian attack without giving specific details. A war cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday was also postponed until Wednesday, an Israeli government source said, without giving further details.
In a bid to prevent Israel from retaliating on a massive scale,
the US and the EU proposed to step up economic and political sanctions against Iran.
The US plans to impose new sanctions against Iran’s missile and drone programmes and allies are expected to follow suit, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said in a statement on Tuesday.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stressed at a press conference in Washington that the use of sanctions and cooperation with allies is aimed at countering Iran’s “malign and destabilising activities”, including disrupting terrorist financing. She said that further sanctions against Iran are expected to be announced soon.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that following an emergency videoconference of EU foreign ministers, some Member States had called for the extension of sanctions against Iran. Borrell said the proposal would extend the sanctions regime aimed at restricting Iran’s supply of drones to Russia to include missiles and could also cover supplies to Iranian proxies in the Middle East.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz has initiated a diplomatic effort urging 32 countries to impose sanctions on Iran’s missile programme and to designate its Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group, in line with Washington’s approach.
Iran attacked in retaliation for the attack on its embassy compound in Damascus on the 1st of April, which was attributed to Israel, but Iran has stated that it now considers the matter closed.
Several countries have called on Israel to refrain from retaliating, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, who on Tuesday called on all parties in the Middle East to refrain from actions that would trigger a new confrontation, which he warned could have disastrous consequences for the region, the Kremlin said.
Also read: US will not participate in Israeli retaliation against Iran
Follow us on Facebook and X!