Iran sanctioned over weekend attack on Israel

“We helped defeat this attack,” U.S. President Joe Biden said in a statement. “And today, we are holding Iran accountable — imposing new sanctions and export controls on Iran.”
Biden also issued a warning to Iran’s supporters, saying, “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.”
The Treasury Department sanctions target 16 individuals and two entities that work to supply unmanned aerial vehicles, plus five companies that provide components for one of Iran’s largest steel producers, reports VOA.
These sanctions, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a statement, aim to “degrade and disrupt key aspects of Iran’s malign activity, including its UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) program and the revenue the regime generates to support its terrorism.”
In addition to the sanctions, the Department of Commerce imposed new controls to restrict Iran’s access to technologies that include “basic commercial grade microelectronics.”
Yellen noted that the sanctions are part of a multilateral effort that includes economic steps by the U.K. and other allies.
This follows a late Wednesday statement from nearly 50 countries condemning Iran’s missile and drone attacks on Israel, calling on parties in the region to work to prevent the situation from escalating further, and pledging to cooperate diplomatically on efforts to resolve tensions in the Middle East.
The statement came from the permanent representatives to the United Nations from Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Britain, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Micronesia, Norway, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and the United States.
“We note that Iran’s escalatory attack is the latest in a pattern of dangerous and destabilizing actions by Iran and its militant partners that pose a grave threat to international peace and security,” the statement said.
Israel will decide on its own how to respond to Iran’s weekend attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday, even as Western countries asked for restraint to avoid all-out Middle East warfare.
Netanyahu met with British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock. The two officials traveled to Israel as part of a Western attempt to keep the Israel-Iran confrontation from escalating beyond the Israeli war against Hamas militants in Gaza, which is now in its seventh month.
Netanyahu's office said he thanked Cameron and Baerbock for their support, while telling them, "I want to make it clear — we will make our own decisions, and the State of Israel will do everything necessary to defend itself."
Earlier, Cameron said it was now apparent Israel planned to retaliate for the hundreds of missiles and drones Iran aimed at Israel, almost all of which Israel and its allies shot down. Tehran launched the Saturday attack in response to a presumed April 1 Israeli airstrike that killed military officers at Iran’s embassy in the Syrian capital, Damascus.
Baerbock said escalation "would serve no one, not Israel's security, not the many dozens of hostages still in the hands of Hamas, not the suffering population of Gaza, not the many people in Iran who are themselves suffering under the regime, and not the third countries in the region who simply want to live in peace."
Israel says it must retaliate to preserve its credibility.
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, speaking at an annual military parade on the outskirts of Tehran, warned against Israel retaliating, saying Iran would follow with a “massive and harsh response.”
Senior U.S. officials have said the Iranian attack on Israel, the first launched from Iranian soil, involved more than 110 ballistic missiles, 30 cruise missiles and more than 150 one-way, explosive aerial drones. They said Iranian proxy forces in Iraq, Syria and Yemen also took part in the attack.
Iran has called Sunday’s aerial assault a one-off event carried out in retaliation for the attack on its consulate in Damascus.
The Israeli war cabinet has met repeatedly in recent days to debate Israel’s response options.