EU Agrees to Expand Sanctions Against the Islamic Republic; Israel: This is Just the Beginning

On Monday, April 22, the foreign ministers of the European Union agreed to expand sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran's missile and drone programs. Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, told reporters at the end of the ministers' meeting that a political agreement was reached to extend sanctions against Iran's drone program and to expand these sanctions to the missile program 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 Borrell, the new sanctions go beyond Russia and also prohibit the delivery of drones and missiles to Iran's proxies. In response to the EU's decision, Israel Katz, Israel's foreign minister, posted in Persian on social media platform X, addressing Ali Khamenei, the leader of Iran, stating: 'Today's important decision by the EU to sanction the Iranian regime's military programs sends a clear message to the Iranian 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 Iranian government's military cooperation with Russia. The implementation of the EU's new sanctions requires further actions to establish a legal framework for this purpose. Following the Iranian government's drone and missile attacks against Israel, the Western diplomatic campaign to increase pressure on the Islamic Republic has intensified. In this context, the United States imposed dozens of new sanctions on April 19 against Iran's drone program, steel industries, 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 this attack and holds Iranian officials and entities accountable with these new sanctions. On the same day, Britain, in coordination with the United States, sanctioned seven individuals and six organizations involved in the Iranian government's attack on Israel. The British government stated that 'in a coordinated action with the United States, senior military figures in Iran were sanctioned in response to the dangerous direct attack by the Islamic Republic of Iran on Israel.' Macron told Netanyahu: 'We stand with Israel against the threats of the Islamic Republic.' Contact between two Israeli ministers and the U.S. Secretary of State suggests speculation about efforts to reconsider potential sanctions. Israel called for Europe to 'wake up' against the 'evil empire' of the Islamic Republic. A letter from 134 members of the British Parliament 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.