The European Union is considering broadening the scope of its sanctions already in place against Iran following the attack on Israel last weekend, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Tuesday. “The idea is to expand the existing (sanctions) regime against Iranian drones,” Josep Borrell said after an extraordinary videoconference meeting of EU foreign ministers.
In July 2023, the European Union adopted restrictive measures due to Iran’s military support for Russia’s war against Ukraine, including imposing a ban on the export from the EU to Iran of components used in the manufacture of drones.
The idea, supported in particular by France and Germany, would be to expand to other types of weaponry, such as missiles, even if the EU currently has no proof that Iranian missiles are used. in the bombing of cities and infrastructure in Ukraine.
The 27 “strongly condemned the Iranian attack”
The current sanctions regime, which currently only concerns Iran, could also be extended to Tehran’s allies in the Middle East, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon or the Houthi rebels in Yemen, the head of diplomacy further explained. European.
All EU 27 ministers “strongly condemned the Iranian attack” against Israel, he explained, insisting on the need to avoid a regional “escalation”. “We must move away from the edge of the precipice,” said Josep Borrell.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Tuesday called for new European Union sanctions on Iranian drones after Tehran’s attack on Israel. “I hope that we will now finally take this step together as an EU,” she said.
A first direct attack by Iran on Israel
Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles towards Israeli territory overnight from Saturday to Sunday, in response to an April 1 strike on the consular annex of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, Syria , attributed to Israel.
Almost all of the missiles and drones were destroyed before hitting Israeli territory. This was Iran’s first direct attack on Israel. The Israeli army warned on Tuesday that Iran would “not emerge unscathed” from this unprecedented attack.