EU to impose new sanctions against Iran

BRUSSELS: European Union (EU) leaders decided on Wednesday to step up sanctions against Iran over the latter’s weekend missile and drone attack on Israel.

The EU will take further restrictive measures against Iran, notably in relation to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and missiles, the European Council said in a statement after the first day of a two-day summit in Brussels.

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The EU leaders also urged “all parties to exercise the utmost restraint and to refrain from any action that may increase tensions in the region.”

Iran launched about 350 drones and missiles late Saturday in response to Israel’s killing of seven Iranians, including two veteran commanders, in a strike on the consular section of the Iranian embassy in Syria on April 1.

The EU has a raft of sanctions already in place against Iran, including trade restrictions, travel bans and asset freezes. More recently, the bloc established a new regime to prohibit the EU export of critical components used to manufacture deadly drones.

The Financial Times said Western countries are mulling new sanctions against Iran while pleading for a cooling of tensions to avert a wide war in the Middle East.

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Public opinion pointed out they do not face up to the root of the retaliatory attack on Israel – the spillover from the Gaza conflict, but try to achieve regional peace by slapping sanctions on Iran, fully demonstrating the double standards of their Middle East policies.