Washington and London impose sanctions on Iran, targeting drone manufacturers

The United States and the United Kingdom wereé the first Thursday à to strengthen their sanctions against Iran following last weekend's attack on Israel, targeting Iran's drone program, the steel industry and automakers. ;quot;.

Washington's sanctions target in particular “16 people and two entities enabling the production of Iranian drones” including the Shahed which “were used during the April 13 attack”, announced the Treasury Department in a press release, as well as three subsidiaries of the Iranian automobile manufacturer Bahman Group and the Iranian Ministry of Defense.

According to the Treasury Department, the targeted individuals and entities “are working in the name of the Quds Force”, elite unit of the Revolutionary Guards responsible for Iran's external operations.

London, for its part, targeted “several Iranian military organizations, individuals and entities involved in the Iranian drone and ballistic missile industries,” the Treasury said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken at the G7 Foreign Ministers Meeting on April 18, 2024 in Capri, Italy © AFP – Tiziana FABI

Iran launched more than 350 drones and missiles against Israel overnight from Saturday to Sunday, almost all of which were intercepted in flight. Tehran presented its attack as a response to the deadly strike blamed on Israel targeting the Iranian consulate in Damascus in early April.

In response, Western countries promised to strengthen their sanctions against Iran, but also want to avoid an escalation of violence in the region.

– “Strong signal” –

Joe Biden assured that the sanctions are intended to “limit Iran’s destabilizing military programs”, according to a White House press release.

And he warned “those who enable or support Iran's attacks”: “we will not hesitate to take all necessary measures to hold you accountable.”

His Finance Minister, Janet Yellen, warned that “new actions” will be taken “in the days and weeks to come”.

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on April 17, 2024 in Washington © AFP – Jim WATSON

On the European side, the decision to impose new sanctions targeting Iranian producers of drones and missiles was taken on Wednesday during a summit in Brussels.

A meeting of foreign ministers is planned for Monday in Luxembourg, indicated the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Tajani, on the sidelines of the G7 Foreign Affairs in Capri.

The ministers of the G7 countries (United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan and Italy) nevertheless did not take a decision on Thursday during of this meeting on the Italian island: “This is not the place to formally decide what to do, because each country has different rules for imposing sanctions”, clarified Antonio Tajani.

“The idea is to send a strong signal to Iran so that what happened is not repeated. A political message which is also transformed into concrete actions. But here we have only taken a political decision”, he added.

– “Economic risks” –

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak indicated that the sanctions taken by the United Kingdom target “the leaders of the Iranian military and the forces responsible for the weekend attack”, in order to “further limit Iran's ability to destabilize the region” , according to a press release.

His head of diplomacy, David Cameron, called on Iran to “put an end to its reckless and illegal behavior. A new escalation is not in anyone's interest,” he added.

He also called for the immediate release of the MSC Aries after the takeover on Saturday in the Strait of Hormuz of this container ship, which has 25 crew members, by the maritime special forces of the Revolutionary Guards, the army ideology of the Islamic Republic, a few hours before the attack on Israel.

G7 foreign ministers at the Capri summit, Italy, April 18, 2024 © AFP – Tiziana FABI

The finance ministers and central bankers of the G7, meeting in Washington on the occasion of the meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, had promised to ensure “close coordination of any future measures aimed at weakening Iran's ability to acquire, produce or transfer weapons to support its destabilizing regional activities,” according to a statement Wednesday evening.

They had also called “for stability throughout the region, in view of the economic risks posed by regional escalation, in particular disruptions to international maritime transport”.

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