(Washington) The United States will impose new sanctions on Iran after the attack on Israel last weekend, the White House announced Tuesday, indicating that it “expects” its allies to do so soon. likewise.
“In the coming days, the United States will impose new sanctions targeting Iran, including its drone and missile programs”, its Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Ministry of Defense, detailed Jake Sullivan in a press release. , President Joe Biden’s national security adviser.
“These new sanctions, along with other measures, will continue the ongoing pressure on Iran to contain and degrade its military capabilities,” Mr. Sullivan added.
He also indicated that the American armed forces will endeavor to increase their level of preparation to face possible new drone and missile strikes from Iran.
“We expect our allies and partners to quickly follow us with their own sanctions,” notes the Washington press release – which seems to be in progress on the side of Brussels.
Hundreds of sanctions
“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.
Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles towards Israeli territory overnight from Saturday to Sunday, in response to a strike on 1er April, on the consular annex of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria, assigned to Israel.
Almost all of the missiles and drones were destroyed before hitting Israeli territory. This was Iran’s first direct attack on Israel.
The Israeli army warned on Tuesday that Iran would “not emerge unscathed” from this unprecedented attack.
“For three years, in addition to sanctions related to drones and missiles, the United States has sanctioned more than 600 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 Jake Sullivan.
US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said earlier on Tuesday that she “expected” these new sanctions to be announced.
She also insisted on the fact that the sanctions taken against Hamas must not prevent aid from reaching the inhabitants of Gaza, assuring that the Treasury has made sure 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.
reference: www.lapresse.ca