Germany Calls For Expanded EU Sanctions On Iranian Drone Technology

Over the weekend, US-led coalition forces in Iraq successfully intercepted dozens of the projectiles, a source close to the Iraqi government told The National.

The majority of the Iranian drones and missiles were shot down above key areas including Baghdad, Najaf, and the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.

US anti-missile systems stationed at the Ain Al Asad airbase in Anbar province were pivotal in neutralizing the airborne threats. Additionally, a US Patriot battery in the Kurdish region intercepted at least one ballistic missile, which subsequently crashed in the Soran district near Erbil.

Following the attack, which involved more than 300 drones and missiles launched by Iran towards Israeli territory, the Iraqi landscape was littered with remnants of the intercepted weapons. Notably, parts of a drone were found in an open area outside Najaf. No casualties have been reported from the incident, another official said.

Along with the US, Israel was aided by the UK, Jordan and France in the mission to intercept the barrage.

The Iranian offensive came in retaliation to an Israeli airstrike on April 1 on Tehran's consulate building in Damascus, which resulted in the death of two high-ranking Iranian military officials plus other IRGC personnel.

Despite the chaotic aftermath, the Iraqi government has yet to issue a formal denunciation of Iran’s use of its airspace for the attacks.

A spokesman for the Iran-backed Al Nujaba militia in Iraq criticised Baghdad after the attack, saying the intervention of US forces "undoubtedly embarrasses the Iraqi government, which seeks to take a clear position on the American military presence" in the country.

The US Central Command said it “successfully engaged and destroyed” more than 80 one-way attack drones and at least six ballistic missiles intended to strike Israel from Iran and Yemen. It was the first direct attack from Iranian soil to target the Jewish state after years of shadow warfare.

Yellen began remarks prepared for a news conference by addressing what she called an unprecedented attack on Israel by Iran and its proxies, saying Treasury would use its sanctions authority and work with allies to "continue disrupting the Iranian regime’s malign and destabilizing activity."

The United States is using financial sanctions to isolate Iran and disrupt its ability to fund proxy groups and support Russia's war in Ukraine, the Treasury Department said. However, critics says the administration is not enforcing some key sanctions, providing Iran with a partial reprieve.

Treasury has targeted more than 500 individuals and entities connected to terrorism and terrorist financing by the Iranian regime and its proxies since the start of the Biden administration in January 2021, Yellen said.

That has included targeting Iran’s drone and missile programs and its financing of the Palestinian militant group Hamas, the Houthis in Yemen, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and Iraqi militia groups, she said.

"From this weekend’s attack to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, Iran’s actions threaten the region’s stability and could cause economic spillovers," Yellen said, without giving details.

She spoke at a news conference during this week's meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, which bring top finance officials to Washington from around the world.

The Biden administration continues the policy of the Trump administration in sanctioning companies and individuals involved in Iran’s destabilizing activities and weapons programs. However, since President Biden took office in early 2021, enforcement of Trump’s oil export sanctions on Iran have become weak, as the administration has sought to revive the JCPOA nuclear accord. Moreover, Biden has offered sanctions waivers to Iran totaling at least $16 billion in 2023.

When asked about Iran's continuing oil exports despite US sanctions, Yellen replied, "We have been working to diminish Iran's ability to export oil...There may be more that we can do."

Iran on Saturday launched more than 300 drones and missiles against Israel, its first direct attack on the country, in retaliation for a suspected Israeli air strike on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1 killed elite military officers.

Israel's military said that it shot down almost all the drones and missiles, and that the attack caused no deaths, but the situation has increased fears of open warfare between the longtime foes.

In Gaza, thousands of Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive launched against Hamas after the group attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Yellen said Washington was continuing to use economic tools to pressure Hamas, but said Treasury was emphasizing that its sanctions should not impede life-saving aid.

She called for urgent action to end Palestinian suffering in the narrow enclave, noting that Gaza's entire population of more than 2 million people was facing acute food insecurity and that most of the population had been displaced.

"It is incumbent on all of us here at these meetings to do everything in our power to end this suffering," she said.

Yellen noted that Washington was also using sanctions to target extreme settler violence in the West Bank, while working to ensure a functioning banking system there and supporting IMF programs in Jordan and Egypt.

With reporting by Reuters

The threat by Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi follows the launch of over 300 missiles and drones by Iran towards Israeli territory, Iran’s first open assault against its main enemy state.

The bombardment was in retaliation for an Israeli air strike on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus on April 1, killing two senior Quds Force commanders and other IRGC personnel.

Raisi made the statement during a phone call with Qatar’s Emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani Monday night.

"We firmly declare that the slightest action against Iran's interests will definitely be met with a severe, extensive and painful response."

Adding to the tensions, Israeli Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi vowed retaliation during a statement to troops at the Nevatim air base, one of the sites hit in the Saturday attack.

Further complicating matters, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani warned that Iran would react instantly to any Israeli counterstrikes.

“The retaliation would come in a matter of seconds, as Iran will not wait for another 12 days to respond," he told state TV.

The situation has also aroused international concern. US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen stated that Iran threatened stability in the Middle East and could cause economic spillovers.

She said the US would use sanctions and work with allies, to keep disrupting Iran’s "malign and destabilizing activity."

That plea comes in the aftermath of a large drone and missile attack by Iran against Israel last week, which Katz termed as needing a strong political and strategic response.

"I am leading a political attack against Iran. This morning, I sent letters to 32 countries and spoke with dozens of foreign ministers and leading figures in the world demanding that sanctions be imposed on the Iranian missile project and that the Revolutionary Guards be declared a terrorist organization, as a way to contain and weaken Iran. Iran must be stopped now – before it is too late," stated Katz.

Iran launched a mass drone and missile attack Saturday night in response to Israel’s air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus earlier this month. It killed two senior commanders and other senior figures in the IRGC.

The UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is also under pressure to outlaw Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization in the United Kingdom.

Shadow Defense Secretary John Healey and former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith criticized the UK government's hesitancy in dealing with the IRGC amidst growing risks to UK interests.

Healey emphasized the IRGC's pivotal role in threatening not only Israel but also Arab countries and Western interests across the region through its support for violent military militias.

Since its establishment in 1979, the IRGC has grown into a dominant military, political, and economic force in Iran, with actions extending beyond its borders, including plots against individuals on British soil. Earlier this year, the UK sanctioned members of the IRGC's Unit 840 related to assassination attempts on British nationals.

Internationally, the IRGC's reach, and influence remain a concern, with its activities prompting security measures such as the temporary relocation of Iran International’s UK offices to Washington, following threats from IRGC agents.

Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, and the United States have already designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization.

Earlier today, Iranian opposition figure and activist Vahid Beheshti released a confidential letter signed by Brigadier General Majid Kazemi, head of IRGC’s Intelligence Security Organization. Kazemi was responsible for overseeing the IRGC’s operations, suppressing civil society in Iran, wrongfully arresting Iranian dissidents, including dual nationals, and overseeing the regime's brutal crackdown against protests across the country in response to the killing of Mahsa Amini in 2022, according US Treasury Department’s OFAC.

The letter from Kazemi, which is dated March 11, 2024 and titled “support and encouragement of Palestinian actions towards the political isolation of the Zionist regime," is addressed to Colonel Mohammad Sajedifar, the deputy of cultural and psychological operations of the IRGC Ground Force, and it states:

“Given the recent developments in the issue of Palestine and the psychological impact of the Al-Aqsa Storm operation on Palestinian communities in European and American countries, it was determined to implement significant support measures for April 15 and other rallies with the aim to achieve political isolation [of Israel].”

Alongside the letter, Beheshti shared the promotional video relating to the April `5 rallies, which Kazemi refers to in his letter adding:

“This video clip is the announcement of a collective movement aimed at disrupting the public order in Europe, USA, Australia and Asia all under the pretext of supporting Palestinians. This is a political movement intended to cause as much chaos and instability as possible, which are the exact goals of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The regime of the Islamic Republic has on multiple occasions, stated clearly that their goal is to destroy the modern society and build a global Islamic state.”

The video calls on the public to "block logistical hubs to stop the flow of capital worldwide”, to join the rally nicknamed A15, “a global economic blockade, answering the call from Gaza to fight for a liberated Palestine” on 15 April.

Beheshti further states that the rallies in Western countries are organized “directly in line with the mission of the Islamic Republic” and ordered by the IRGC.

In an interview with Iran International earlier Monday, Beheshti emphasized that the IRGC uses brainwashing tactics targeting youth in Western countries to cause chaos with such rallies being an example of these tactics.

Less than a month after the October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas, Iran’s ruler Ali Khamenei called for the blockade of oil and food exports to Israel and urged Muslim states to “not cooperate economically with the Zionist regime.”

Following Khamenei’s call, Yemen’s Houthis, a proxy of the IRGC, began targeting commercial vessels in the Red Sea with drones and missiles. The attacks have harmed international shipping and forces the US and UK to launch air attacks on Houthi bases.

The April 15 march organizers remain mostly anonymous. However, the video is heavily promoted by far-left groups, including Antifa, on social media. Uploaded to YouTube four days ago by A15 Economic Blockade, it directs viewers to their website, featuring a solidarity agreement among members to resist media, political, police, and “Zionist pressures”. The site emphasizes avoiding police communication or coordination regarding actions or fellow organizers.

Meanwhile, last year, the British police announced that the Islamic Republic regime is exploiting pro-Palestinian protests in Britain, according to the Times.