US and EU consider new sanctions against Iran following attack on Israel

Shafaq News/ The United States and the European Union are contemplating swift imposition of new sanctions against Iran after Tehran's recent large-scale air attack on Israel.

Countries, including the US, France, and Germany, stressed the necessity of international sanctions to deter "Iran's aggressive actions."

European Union's top diplomat, Josep Borrell, stated on Tuesday following an emergency video conference that the EU is gearing up to broaden its sanctions against Iran in light of the attack on Israel.

"Today, ministers took a strong stance, asking all actors in the region to move away from the abyss, in order not to fall into it," Borrell remarked to reporters post the meeting.

Borrell disclosed that several EU members have proposed extending the existing sanctions regime aimed at limiting Iranian drone supplies to Russia to also encompass missile provisions and support deliveries to Iranian proxies in the Middle East.

In addition, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen affirmed Washington's commitment to utilize its sanctions authority in collaboration with allies to "continue disrupting the Iranian regime's malign and destabilizing activity."

Yellen's stance followed the German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock's announcement about a growing European consensus favoring the rapid expansion of sanctions against Tehran, potentially within days.

"I hope that we can now finally take this step together as the EU," Baerbock remarked in Berlin on Tuesday.

Officials have hinted at potential targets for expanded sanctions, including broadening the scope to involve entities linked to Iran's drone manufacturing, a technology prominently used not only in the recent attack but also in conflicts such as Russia's actions against Ukraine.