Iran’s direct attack on Israel has consequences: the US will expand sanctions. The EU is also planning punitive measures.
After the Iranian attack on Israel, the US announced new sanctions against Tehran. These are intended, among other things, to attack Iran’s missile and drone program, as US President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, announced in Washington on Tuesday evening.
The punitive measures would also affect entities supporting the Revolutionary Guards and the Ministry of Defense of the Islamic Republic. It also said the US expected its allies and partners to follow suit with similar measures.
The EU extends sanctions
According to chief diplomat Josep Borrell, the European Union is working to expand sanctions against Iran. The tightening of sanctions should impact Iranian arms exports, including the supply of drones to Russia.
Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (ÖVP) said in advance that he expected a clear majority in favor of sanctions.
Schallenberg: “Crossing the red line must have consequences”
The EU must “take a clear position: on the one hand, de-escalate, on the other hand, draw clear lines,” he said. Schallenberg calls for a “clear response from the international community on Iran”: if a red line is crossed, there must be consequences.
“I do not see why deliveries of missiles to allies (allies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon or Houthis in Yemen) are not covered by the sanctions regime. But our goal should be to prevent a wildfire.”
Israel, on the other hand, should not be provoked because they “basically won the day: they were able to deflect 99 percent of the (Iranian, mind you) missiles,” Schallenberg emphasized. Israel received support from the US, Britain, France and Jordan.
“Escape from the Abyss”
“The region is on the edge of the abyss,” Borrell emphasized. We have to get away from him now. If attack follows counter-attack and the intensity continues to increase, you will have a real war. The war in the Gaza Strip will therefore not end.
Borrell initially did not say in the evening when the planned new sanctions against Iran could come into effect. He simply pointed out that another regular meeting of EU foreign ministers will take place in Luxembourg next Monday.
Source: Krone
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