After Tehran’s historic missile and drone attack on Israel, the US and the EU intend to increase the scope of their sanctions against Iran.
About US and EU To Apply Sanctions On Iran In Retaliation For Israel Attack
According to White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, the US will place sanctions on Iran’s drone and missile programs, as well as on organizations that aid the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Defense Ministry, in the coming days.
Sullivan stated, “We expect that our partners and allies will soon be following with their own sanctions.“
Following an urgent video meeting of foreign ministers, Josep Borrell, the chief diplomat for the European Union, said the bloc is getting ready to impose penalties in reaction to Tehran’s strike.
According to Borrell, a proposal to broaden the sanctions system has received public support from Germany, France, and a number of other EU members. The goal is to stop Iran from supplying drones to Russia, as well as missiles and covert supplies to Iranian proxies in the Middle East.
Borrell declared his support for the proposal, adding that diplomats will work on it over the next few days so that ministers could revisit it at their meeting on Monday in Luxembourg.
Opponents of the US response, meantime, claim that Washington is not reversing UN sanctions against Iran’s drone and missile programs, which they claim would come at a significant financial cost to Tehran.
Others countered that Washington is avoiding applying pressure to Tehran and is acting theatrically.
Senior Advisor Richard Goldberg of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies stated on X that “we will know this is more of a media stunt than a pressure track” if they continue to funnel money to the regime, prevent a fallback, and their allies do not label the IRGC as a terrorist group.
IRGC’s designation of terrorists
Borrell reaffirmed the EU’s stance that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) could only be labeled as a terrorist organization if an EU national authority determined that the group had engaged in terrorist activities, even though he noted that some EU members had brought up the possibility of sanctioning Iran’s elite paramilitary force.
Several experts, on the other hand, vigorously contest this, stating that there is ample evidence, admissible under the EU’s procedure, to label the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
Borrell stated that although the EU was not aware of any such example, he would request that the diplomatic service of the EU look into the issue once more.
Since the IRGC’s violent suppression of anti-regime riots in Iran in 2022 and 2023—which resulted in the deaths of at least 500 protestors, including children—Borrell has maintained this stance.
Experts have also pointed to the IRGC’s involvement in supplying weaponry to Russia in support of its illegitimate invasion of Ukraine as just another cause to outlaw the paramilitary group.
Tehran has just begun targeting Jews in Europe, even though the Iranian government has long been targeting opponents and dissidents overseas.
A German-Iranian man was found guilty in December of trying to blow up a synagogue in Bochum, Germany, on behalf of the Iranian government in November 2022. The court sentenced him to almost three years in prison.
Furthermore, there have been abortive efforts to kill Iranian journalists working in the UK.
Following Tehran’s strike on Israel over the weekend, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is coming under pressure from all sides to outlaw the IRGC.
In a similar vein, Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada is being pressured to fulfill his pledge from 2018 to vote in favor of listing the IRGC. When the IRGC shot down Flight PS752 four years ago in January, Trudeau said his administration was looking into methods to designate the Guards.
The Capacity Of Iran To Export Oil
Rather than implementing the current US oil export penalties, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen hinted this week at new sanctions against individuals and networks that finance terrorism and supply guns.
Yellen said, “We have been working to diminish Iran’s ability to export oil,” in response to a question concerning Iran’s ongoing oil exports in defiance of US sanctions. We might be able to accomplish more.
Every day, Iran exports over 1.3 million barrels of crude oil, mostly to China.
Meanwhile, according to Borrell, all 27 EU ministers have vehemently denounced the Iranian attack and reaffirmed their support for Israel’s security. The ambassador also strongly criticized Israel’s handling of the Gaza conflict, which was started in retaliation for the October 7th attack on Israel by Hamas from the Palestinian territory.
Ministers adopted a firm stance today, requesting that all parties involved in the area stay out of the chasm so as not to fall into it, Borrell told reporters following the meeting scheduled to address the fallout from the Iranian attack.
Borrell threatened to declare “full war” in the Middle East if there is an escalation of the current crisis with every turn.
About The Author
