US-EU plans to impose new sanctions on Iran

The United States and the European Union (EU) have taken the initiative to impose more sanctions on Iran due to the attack on Israel. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that action will be taken in the next few days. And EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that their coalition is working on the matter.

Last Saturday (April 13) Iran launched an unprecedented attack targeting Israel with more than 300 drones and missiles. Tehran said this action was taken in response to the recent attack on the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus that killed 13 people.

Israel has so far not officially said anything about retaliating against the Iranian attack. However, they requested 32 allied countries to impose sanctions on Tehran's missile program.

UN sanctions on Iran's missile program expired in October last year. The sanctions were related to a broader agreement to limit the country's nuclear program. However, several countries, including the US, EU and UK, have maintained previous sanctions against Iran and added new ones.

A major military, political and economic force in Iran is the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Israel has called for it to be designated as a terrorist organization. While the US has already done so, the UK has yet to do so.

Last Tuesday, US Treasury Secretary Yellen said, I am optimistic that we will impose more sanctions against Iran in the coming days. We have not pre-screened the ban tools. But all means to disrupt Iran's terrorist financing will be on the table.

"Iran's oil exports are a potential area that we can look into," he said, adding that Iran was exporting some oil. We can take some steps there too.

Yellen said the U.S. has already used financial sanctions to isolate Iran and disrupt its ability to fund proxy groups and support Russia's war in Ukraine. More than five hundred individuals and organizations have been targeted.

Existing U.S. sanctions on Iran currently ban nearly all U.S. trade with the country. U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the new sanctions would target Iran's missile and drone programs, as well as the country's Revolutionary Guard and Defense Ministry.

"Hopefully, our allies and partners will soon implement their sanctions," he said. These sanctions and other measures will continue to undermine Iran's military capabilities and effectiveness and counter its troubling behaviour.

The EU's top diplomat, Borrell, said that some member states of the alliance have asked to increase the sanctions on Iran. He said he would request the EU's diplomatic service to "start the necessary work on sanctions".

Source: BBC