Achi news desk-
City42: EU leaders agree on new sanctions on Iran.
European Union leaders agreed late on Wednesday on new sanctions targeting Iran for a direct attack on Israel.
European Union leaders in Brussels agreed late on Wednesday on new sanctions targeting Iran for a direct attack on Israel.
The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, told reporters on Thursday morning after the first day of a two-day summit that the EU had “decided to impose sanctions against Iran”.
He said the purpose of the new sanctions is to target the companies that provide the support Iran needs for drones and missiles.
“The EU will take further sanctions measures against Iran, particularly in relation to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and missiles,” EU leaders said in a statement.
Originally, the EU summit on Wednesday and Thursday was intended to focus on the bloc’s economy and its competitiveness. But rising tensions in the Middle East pushed the economic debate to another day’s agenda.
EU leaders have appealed for calm as Israel responds to a drone and missile attack by Iran on Saturday.
Israel should not launch a “major attack” on Iran
German Chancellor Olaf Schulz urged Israel not to retaliate against Iran’s arrival with “its own major attack”.
Schulz called on Israel to use the successful defense against Iranian missile and drone attacks to “strengthen its position throughout the region.” On that basis, “a sustained military response would certainly not be appropriate,” he said.
Iran says its drone and missile strikes on Israel are in retaliation for a missile attack on the Iranian embassy in Syria earlier this month that killed high-ranking Iranian officials.
It is possible that sanctions will be extended after Iran started supporting Russia’s war against Ukraine by supplying drones to Moscow.
Those sanctions banned Iran from exporting parts used in the construction and production of unmanned aerial vehicles, and are now set to make it more difficult for Iran to develop missiles in the face of an attack on Israel.
A recent court ruling on the IRGC’s activities in the European Union is being reviewed by the EU authorities.
Schulz said this could pave the way for a terrorist designation by the IRGC. Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre de Croo said his country would support sanctions on the IRGC.
Along with the Middle East, EU leaders also discussed Ukraine’s need for air defense weapons with the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, who joined the meeting via video call.
In his address to EU leaders, Zelenskiy called for more support against Russian airstrikes.
The EU leaders’ statement “underlines the need to urgently provide air defense to Ukraine and accelerate the process of providing all necessary military assistance, including artillery and missile munitions”.
Germany has already delivered two Patriot surface-to-air missile systems to Ukraine and will deliver one more, Schulz said.
The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, said that the Netherlands and Denmark are working together to provide F16 fighter jets.
Ezoic
“We know that we must do more to support Ukraine than ever before. This is particularly relevant for all the air defense capabilities that are needed,
