The European Union and the United States ask Israel for restraint in its response to the massive Iranian attack, but yesterday they announced new sanctions against Tehran: Brussels to stop the Iranian drone and missile program, and Washington to prevent Tehran from bypassing the US sanctions that already exist. weighed on its oil sector.
The Twenty-Seven – in an extraordinary meeting by videoconference of the Foreign Ministers – agreed to begin the procedures to expand the current sanctions regime against Iran and include vetoes on the export of new components that the country uses to manufacture drones such as those used against Israel or that has made it easier for Russia to attack Ukraine. At the request of some ministers who once again proposed that the EU adopt sanctions against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, a report has been requested from the European diplomatic services to determine whether there is sufficient legal basis to accuse them of terrorism.
Josep Borrell, high representative of Foreign Policy of the EU, called on the world not to lose sight of what is happening in the Strip: “Yes, we must pay great attention to the Iranian attack on Israel and give them assistance and means of defense that have been very useful to shoot down Iranian drones and missiles but we cannot forget what is happening in Gaza because there will be no regional stability or possibility of building peace in the region if the war in Gaza continues.”
Likewise, yesterday the European Union launched a call for “containment” by all parties involved in the Middle East conflict after the unprecedented missile attack launched by Iran against Israel, a “new escalation in an already very tense situation” that places the region “on the brink of the abyss,” Borrell warned after the extraordinary meeting of foreign ministers.
“I don’t want to exaggerate but in the Middle East we are on the edge of a very deep precipice. We are rushing towards the abyss and we must move away from it,” claimed Borrell.
If the attacks and reprisals continue, the Middle East could find itself in the middle of a major war conflict. “The region does not need a large-scale war, neither does the world and the people of Gaza, even less so,” because if there is an escalation that leads to a regional conflict, the violence “will not stop, it will increase.”
In line with the reaction of the G-7 last Sunday, the European foreign ministers expressed their “strong condemnation” of the Iranian attack, reaffirmed the “commitment of the European Union to the security of Israel” and, although their positions on the core of the conflict vary, they were united in their objective of avoiding an escalation and called on all actors to “show restraint.”
The US Secretary of the Treasury, Janet Yellen, announced for her part that the United States and its allies will sanction Iran “in the coming days” for the attack against Israel last Saturday.
“We will take additional measures against Iran in the coming days,” Yellen said at a press conference on the sidelines of the spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB), which are being held this week in Washington.
Yellen announced that she will use these meetings, attended by Economy and Finance Ministers from almost all over the world, to coordinate a new round of sanctions against Iran.
“We never give details of sanctions before announcing them. But in the conversations I have had, all options to interrupt Iran’s terrorist financing remain on the table,” the Treasury Secretary stressed.
Yellen did not offer details on what sanctions the US and its allies will impose on Iran; But when asked by the press, she mentioned the possibility of increasing controls to prevent Tehran from bypassing the US sanctions that already weighed on its oil sector.
“Iran continues to export some oil. It is possible that something more can be done. “I don’t want to say anything about the sanctions we could impose, but, without a doubt, that is one of the areas we could address,” he simply said.
The reaction of the West to the announced Iranian attack on Israel has led the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to demand that Europe and the United States help them in the same way to stop the attacks with Iranian drones and missiles that Moscow launches every day. against his country. Asked about this at a press conference, Borrell said he “understands” his position but recalled that the Jewish State has the famous “steel dome” that protects its airspace. “It has taken years to build and has a very high cost, but even if we had the money in the box, it could not be built in one night, there are things that cannot be bought.” Furthermore, he added, the drones and missiles launched by Tehran flew over air bases in France, the United Kingdom, the United States and Jordan, so that these countries acted “in self-defense” and “such a thing does not happen in Ukraine,” so that “the same answer cannot be given.”
In Israel, meanwhile, a response to Iran was still being considered, which, in the words of Minister Benny Gantz – one of the three members of the war cabinet along with Netanyahu and the head of Defense, Yoav Gallant – would occur “in the place , time and in the manner that Israel chooses, which “will act with strategic intelligence.” Yesterday a third meeting of the war cabinet was announced which, finally last night, was postponed to today, Wednesday.
