(Washington) The United States and the European Union warned in separate statements Tuesday that they are preparing to strengthen their sanctions against Iran following the attack on Israel last weekend.
“I expect that we will take additional sanctions against Iran in the coming days,” US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday during a press conference organized on the first day of the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank.
“The idea is to expand the existing (sanctions) regime against Iranian drones,” declared the head of EU diplomacy Josep Borrell, after an extraordinary meeting, by videoconference , EU foreign ministers.
Tehran launched a direct attack on Israeli territory during the night from Saturday to Sunday, in response to a deadly strike attributed to Israel against its consulate in Damascus.
Since Joe Biden’s arrival at the White House in January 2021, “we have targeted more than 500 individuals and entities linked to terrorism and the financing of terrorism by the Iranian regime” and the various movements linked to it in the region, said Janet Yellen.
And this, in particular by targeting “Iran’s drone and missile programs and its financing of Hamas, the Houthis, Hezbollah and the Iraqi militias”, she detailed.
Mme Yellen also insisted that the sanctions taken against Hamas must not prevent aid from reaching the inhabitants of Gaza, assuring that the Treasury has worked to “guarantee that the sanctions do not hinder the vital aid.”
“In Gaza, the entire population – more than two million people – faces acute food insecurity and most of the population has been displaced. It is up to all of us here at these meetings to do everything in our power to end this suffering,” she pleaded.
Use Russian assets
Furthermore, as a Treasury official announced on Monday, Washington intends to take advantage of the spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank to advance the project consisting of using Russia’s frozen assets to arm Ukraine and rebuild it. .
“We continue to work with our international partners to unlock the economic value of immobilized Russian sovereign assets and ensure that Russia pays for the damage it has caused,” said Joe Biden’s Minister of Economy and Finance. .
“The G7 leaders asked us to present a series of options to them at their June summit,” she said, indicating that they had already held discussions on the subject and hoped to “continue these discussions”, including in particular a G7 meeting scheduled for Wednesday in Washington.
“We are considering a series of possibilities ranging from the actual seizure of assets to their use as collateral,” the minister further indicated.
“Ukraine needs more support and a continued flow of support, which leads us to focus on finding a way to unlock economic value and a flow of resources from Russian sovereign assets, around 285 billion which have been immobilized,” also underlined Janet Yellen.
The European Union also intends to use the profits from Russia’s frozen assets in the EU to arm Ukraine, which should free up between 2.5 and 3 billion euros per year for Kyiv.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo discussed the matter with Ukrainian Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko on Tuesday.
Janet Yellen met her Chinese counterpart on Tuesday, during the fourth meeting of the economic and financial working group between the two countries.
Among the topics discussed, “the American delegation continued to express its concerns regarding China’s non-trade practices and its industrial overcapacity. Both sides agreed to further discuss these issues.”
The spring meetings of the IMF and the World Bank began Tuesday in Washington and will last a week.
reference: www.lapresse.ca