Borrell: I Explained the Drone and Missile Sanctions Against the Islamic Republic to Amir-Abdollahian

Josep Borrell, the European Union's foreign policy chief, announced on Wednesday, May 1, that in a phone conversation with Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, the Islamic Republic's foreign minister, he emphasized the "importance of restraint and de-escalation in the region." Borrell wrote in a post on social media platform X that he also discussed the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the "arbitrary detention of European citizens" in Iran with Amir-Abdollahian, and explained the "EU sanctions" against the Islamic Republic's missile and drone programs to the Iranian foreign minister. The foreign ministers of the EU agreed on Monday, April 22, to expand sanctions against the Islamic Republic's missile and drone programs. At the end of the EU foreign ministers' meeting, Borrell told reporters that a political agreement had been reached to expand sanctions against the Islamic Republic's drone program and extend these sanctions to missile programs and the potential transfer of missiles to Russia. The new sanctions prohibit the export of components used in the production of ballistic missiles and drones from the EU. According to Josep Borrell, the new sanctions go beyond Russia and also prohibit the delivery of drones and missiles to the Islamic Republic's proxies. Israel Katz, the Israeli foreign minister, reacted to the EU's decision by posting in Persian on social media X, addressing Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Iranian regime, stating: "The important decision of the European Union today to sanction the Iranian regime's arms programs sends a clear message to the regime's officials. This is how political failure looks, and this is just the beginning." The EU had previously imposed extensive sanctions against the Islamic Republic's nuclear program, human rights violations in Iran, and the regime's military cooperation with Russia. The implementation of the new EU sanctions requires further actions to establish a legal framework for this purpose. Following the Islamic Republic's drone and missile attack against Israel, the Western diplomatic campaign to increase pressure on the Islamic Republic has intensified. In this context, the United States on Thursday, April 20, imposed dozens of new sanctions against the Islamic Republic's drone program, steel industry, and automotive companies. President Joe Biden, in a statement referring to the firing of hundreds of missiles and drones by the Islamic Republic at Israel, stated that the U.S. defended Israel in that attack and holds the officials and institutions of the Islamic Republic accountable with these new sanctions. On the same day, Britain, in a coordinated action with the United States, sanctioned seven individuals and six organizations involved in the Iranian regime's attack on Israel. The British government statement noted that "in a coordinated action with the United States, senior military figures in Iran were sanctioned in response to the direct and dangerous attack by the Islamic Republic of Iran on Israel." Macron told Netanyahu: "We stand with Israel against the threats of the Islamic Republic." Contacts between two Israeli ministers and the U.S. Secretary of State suggest efforts to reconsider the possibility of sanctions. Israel called for Europe to "wake up" against the Islamic Republic's "empire of evil." A letter from 134 British parliament members to Rishi Sunak called for the IRGC to be recognized as a terrorist organization. The U.S. announced cooperation with allies to design a "unified strategy" in response to the actions of the Islamic Republic.