U.S. to impose new sanctions on Iran over Israel attack

U.S. to impose new sanctions on Iran over Israel attack
by Darryl Coote
Washington DC (UPI) Apr 17, 2024

The United States will impose new sanctions targeting Iran, the White House said late Tuesday, in response to Tehran's weekend attack on Israel.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan made the announcement in a statement issued by the White House, stating the punitive measures will be imposed "in the coming days."

The designations will target Iran's missile and drone programs as well as entities supporting its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Ministry of Defense, he said, adding they expect allies and partners to soon follow with their own blacklistings.

"These new sanctions and other measures will continue a steady drumbeat of pressure to contain and degrade Iran's military capacity and effectiveness and confront the full range of its problematic behaviors," Sullivan said.

Iran and Israel have for years been in a proxy conflict that exploded into the open when Israel launched a war against Tehran-backed Hamas in October. Since then, Israel has been defending itself from attacks from Hamas and other Iran proxy militias, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and Syria, while Tehran's Houthi rebels have been striking vessels transiting the Red Sea near Yemen.

On Saturday, Iran for the first time directly attack Israel with hundreds of missiles and drones, the vast majority of which were intercepted. Iran has described its attack as retaliatory for a strike on its diplomatic complex in Damascus early this month that killed several Iranian military leaders.

Israel has said that Iran would "face the consequences" for the attack, while allies, including the United States, have called for restraint.

The United States has repeatedly stated its staunch support for Israel's defense, but their relationship has developed fissures as the war has dragged on with the Biden administration taking issue with how Israel has waged the war and its ballooning casualty toll of nearly 33,000 dead Palestinians.

The Biden administration has said it does not seek to escalate the conflict, though it has been forced further into it by Houthis attacking its warships off the coast of Yemen and Iran militia Kata'ib Hezbollah killing three U.S. soldiers in a January strike Jordan.

President Joe Biden as taken a mostly defensive military stance against Iran and its proxies but an aggressive posture from an economic perspective, turning to his financial vises to confront the Islamic regime. His treasury has responded with a steady stream of sanctions targeting Tehran and its proxy militias in an effort to remove avenues of revenue and deplete their abilities to make war.

Sullivan added Tuesday night that the United States will also be working through the Department of Defense and U.S. Central Command to strengthen and expand integration of air and missile defense as well as early warning systems across the Middle East "to further erode the effectiveness of Iran's missile and UAV capabilities."

UAV is the initialism for unmanned aerial vehicle, meaning drone.

He also said that Biden is coordinating with allies and partners, including the Group of Seven nations, "on a comprehensive response" to the Iran attack.

"The pressure will continue," he said. "We will not hesitate to continue to take action, in coordination with allies and partners around the world, and with Congress, to hold the Iranian government accountable for its malicious and destabilizing actions."