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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
US slaps new sanctions on Iran’s drone program as Israel considers
response to weekend attack
By Kevin Liptak, CNN
Updated:
9:49 AM EDT, Thu April 18, 2024
Source: CNN
The United States slapped new sanctions Thursday on 16 people and two
entities associated with Iran’s drone program as it looks to on
Israel.
The sanctions target executives of an engine manufacturer that supplies
Iran’s Shahad-131 drones, which were used in as well as companies
that service the engines and individuals associated with providing the
drones to Iranian proxy forces throughout the Middle East.
The Treasury Department also said it was punishing five companies
associated with Iran’s steel industry and three subsidiaries of an
Iranian automaker.
The new sanctions, which were coordinated with European allies, are an
effort to cut off supplies to Iran’s missile and drone program and to
isolate the country on the global stage.
But they are also from the United States and its top allies that
countering Iran’s latest aggression doesn’t necessarily require a
military response.
In a statement accompanying the announcement of the sanctions,
President Joe Biden said the US will “not hesitate” to hold Iran
accountable.
“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,” Biden said.
“We’re using Treasury’s economic tools to degrade and disrupt key
aspects of Iran’s malign activity, including its (unmanned aerial
vehicle) program and the revenue the regime generates to support its
terrorism,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. “We will continue
to deploy our sanctions authority to counter Iran with further actions
in the days and weeks ahead.”
“Our actions make it harder and costlier at every turn for Iran to
continue its destabilizing behavior,” she said.
Over the weekend, Iran launched more than 300 missiles and drones
toward Israel in a retaliatory attack for an Israeli airstrike on a
diplomatic compound in Damascus that killed senior Iranian military
officials. Israel, with the help of the United States and other
regional countries,
After the attack, Biden consulted with fellow Group of 7 leaders to
condemn the attack and develop a diplomatic response, including
developing new sanctions.
Biden and other leaders have called on Israel to exercise restraint
following the weekend attack, hoping to The US and other countries have
said the successful interception of the Iranian barrage was ample
demonstration of Israel’s military superiority.
Israel, however, has not yet said how it will respond. The country’s
war cabinet has met periodically this week without announcing any
definitive action.
In a phone call on Saturday evening, Biden told Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu the US would not participate in offensive action
against Iran. Instead, the White House has been clear it intended to
take economic action against Tehran as punishment for the unprecedented
attack on Israel.
Thursday’s actions will augment what is already one of the most
stringent regime of US sanctions. The US has long sought to squeeze
Iranian officials and industries as a way to punish the regime for
human rights abuses and to prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Earlier this week, Yellen did not rule out applying sanctions on
Iranian oil exports. Doing so could risk the potential of higher gas
prices and of angering China, a top buyer of Iranian oil.
This story has been updated with additional reaction.
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