Bridgewater, VA – In response to Iran’s drone attack on Israel, the Biden administration came forward with new sanctions that target Iran’s missile and drone program. Biden also stated that U.S. allies are making additional sanctions to try to destabilize Iran’s military programs.
According to Summer Concepcion, President Joe Biden and leaders of the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations plan to increase economic pressure on the Iranian government. Most notably, the United Kingdom has announced sanctions against Iranian military organizations, and European Union leaders also stated they will increase sanctions against Iran.
Biden stated, “Let it be clear to all those who enable or support Iran’s attacks: The United States is committed to Israel’s security, we are committed to the security of our personnel and partners in the region and we will not hesitate to take all necessary action to hold you accountable.”
The United States Treasury Department stated that they are specifically targeting 16 people that are enabling Iran’s drone production. In a statement on April 18, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said, “We’re using the Treasury’s economic tools to degrade and disrupt key aspects of Iran’s malign activity, including its UAV program, and the revenue the regime generates to support its terrorism. We will continue to deploy our sanctions authority to counter Iran with further actions in the days and weeks ahead.”
Kevin Liptak suggested that by coordinating with European allies, The U.S. Treasury Department could halt Iran’s steel supply and penalize five companies linked to Iran’s steel sector.
In one weekend, Iran launched more than 300 missiles and drones toward Israel in response to the Israeli bombing of Iran’s consular building in Syria, which killed two of Tehran’s military generals and five officers.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has responded to Iran’s drone strikes against them, regardless of the calls from Western countries, including the United States, to exercise restraint. Israel has responded by hitting an Iranian military site in a drone operation that had very little effect. Iran confirmed the attack had taken place in the city of Isfahan and said it failed.
