The U.S. announced it would be imposing new sanctions and export controls after Iran launched a missile and drone attack on Israel last week.
“Let it be clear to all those who enable or support Iran’s attacks: The United States is committed to Israel’s security,” President Joe Biden said in a release about the sanctions. “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.”
What are the sanctions the Biden administration is imposing on Iran?
Iran’s economy is “one of the most heavily sanctioned in the world,” with U.S.-imposed santions on the country since 1979 and an increase in sanctions during the Trump administration, according to The Washington Post.
The new sanctions target the “the leaders and entities connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s Defense Ministry, and the Iranian government’s missile and drone program that enabled this brazen assault,” according to a White House press release.
“Today, in coordination with the United Kingdom and in consultation with partners and allies, we are taking swift and decisive action to respond to Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel. We’re using 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,” said Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen, per a U.S. Department of Treasury release.
Included within those parameters are the following, per the release:
- “Two entities enabling Iran’s UAV production, including engine types that power Iran’s Shahed variant UAVs, which were used in the April 13 attack.”
- Five companies that provide component materials for steel production to Iran’s Khuzestan Steel Company, one of Iran’s largest steel producers.
Steel exports and Iran’s metals sector bring in billions of dollars in revenue annually.
“We will continue to deploy our sanctions authority to counter Iran with further actions in the days and weeks ahead. Over the last three years, we have targeted over 600 individuals and entities connected to Iran’s terrorist activity, its human rights abuses, and its financing of Hamas, the Houthis, Hizballah, and Iraqi militia groups. We have also vigorously enforced our sanctions, including by levying historic fines and exposing sanctions evasion schemes and networks. Our actions make it harder and costlier at every turn for Iran to continue its destabilizing behavior.”
— Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen
What we know about the tensions between Iran and Israel
This isn’t the first time conflict has sparked between the two nations. According to The New York Times, the attack Iran launched on Israel Saturday “represented a watershed in the conflict.” The difference was that the attack “was the first time that Iran directly attacked Israel from its own territory.”
Before Saturday, Iran typically employed use of “foreign proxies such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia to strike Israeli interests, while targeted assassinations of Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists have been a key part of Israel’s strategy,” per the Times.
A timeline of recent events that led to tensions between Iran, Israel
Here’s a basic timeline of recent events that led up to current tensions in the region:
- Oct. 7: Hamas militants storm Israel, killing 1,200 people (majority civilians) and take 250 people captive. Israel responds with fighting and strikes that have reportedly killed 33,700 people. “In launching the assault, Hamas hopes other regional enemies of Israel’s will join,” ABC News reported.
- Oct. 8: Military group Hezbollah “begins firing toward Israel, setting off months of low intensity but deadly cross-border fighting,” per ABC News.
- April 1: An airstrike hits Iran’s consulate in Damascus, Syria, killing seven members of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, including two major generals. Iran blames Israel for the attack, and Israel has not confirmed or denied the allegations.
- Shortly after April 1: Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei threatens that Israel “must be punished and shall be,” per NPR.
- April 13: Iran launches more than 100 drones toward Israel, with the majority getting shot down by Israel, the U.S. and other regional allies, Deseret News reported.
- April 17: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vows to retaliate for the attack. “The state of Israel will do whatever is necessary to defend itself,” per The Associated Press.
How world leaders have responded to the conflict and sanctions
There are no clear plans of what the response will be as of this reporting. The U.S. and the United Kingdom — two of Israel’s strongest allies — warned Israel about furthering conflict in the region but also confirmed support for Israel.
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak warned that “significant escalation will only deepen instability in the region,” according to BBC.
The U.K. has also introduced sanctions that would target Iranian military organizations. In addition, “European leaders also vowed on Wednesday to ramp up sanctions on Iran,” PBS reported.
Here’s what some world leaders have said:
- “I’ve directed my team, including the Department of the Treasury, to continue to impose sanctions that further degrade Iran’s military industries,” Biden said in a release.
- “I don’t want to exaggerate, but we are on the edge of a war, a regional war in the Middle East, which will be sending shockwaves to the rest of the world, and in particular to Europe. So stop it,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said after saying sanctions would be expanded on Iran, per PBS.
- “Today’s designations have been made under the U.K.’s new Iran sanctions regime, which enables the UK to target Iran’s hostile behaviour. Further escalation is in no-one’s interest,” U.K. foreign secretary Lord Cameron said during the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting, BBC reported.
- “We are in a situation where basically everybody can claim victory,” Ali Vaez, the Iran director of the International Crisis Group, told the Times. “Iran can say that it took revenge, Israel can say it defeated the Iranian attack and the United States can say it successfully deterred Iran and defended Israel. If we get into another round of tit for tat, it can easily spiral out of control, not just for Iran and Israel, but for the rest of the region and the entire world.”