The US intends to soon impose new sanctions on Iran over its attack on Israel, US presidential national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.
According to him, the restrictions will affect Tehran’s missile and drone programs. Sanctions will also be imposed on entities supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s Defense Ministry.
“These new sanctions and other measures are designed to continue sustained pressure to deter and reduce the effectiveness of Iran’s military capabilities and to counter the full range of its problematic behavior”, Sullivan said.
He also emphasized that the U.S. expects allies and partners to impose similar sanctions against Tehran. For this purpose, President Joe Biden is holding consultations, primarily with the G7 countries. Earlier, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said that the U.S. “will not hesitate to work with allies to continue to undermine the Iranian regime’s malicious and destabilizing activities”.
In addition, Sullivan said, the Defense Department and U.S. Central Command are working to further strengthen and expand “the successful integration of air and missile defense and early warning systems across the Middle East” to reduce the effectiveness of Iran’s missile and drone capabilities.
On the night of April 14, Iran attacked Israel directly for the first time, firing hundreds of missiles and drones into the country. The massive attack was in response to an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus on April 1, which killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) generals Mohammad Reza Zahedi and Mohammad Hadi Haji Rahimi.
In turn, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has decided to strike Iran in response to its attack, knowledgeable sources told The Jerusalem Post. According to them, among the possible options are strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, as well as bases and launch sites for drones and ballistic missiles. In addition, sanctions against the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and a cyberattack are being considered.
As the interlocutors of the publication specified, it is possible that the IDF will use a combination of these options. In a limited response, Israeli forces could focus on specific individuals among high-ranking IRGC officers and their allies. It is likely that the Israeli Air Force “will be deployed against an extremely important target”, The Jerusalem Post noted.
