The EU and the US announce new sanctions against Iran. The UN Security Council votes on the Palestinians' request for full membership.

Sanctions against Iran: The United States hopes its allies will do the same Photo: Stephanie Scarbrough/AP/dpa

Sanctions against Iran's missile and drone program

Following its attack on Israel, Iran faces new sanctions from the United States and the European Union (EU). The Washington government announced on Tuesday (local time) new sanctions against Tehran for the coming days. According to its foreign representative, Josep Borrell, the EU is also working on expanding sanctions. The EU heads of state and government want to discuss this issue, among other things, at an informal meeting on Wednesday.

The new US sanctions should be imposed “in the coming days,” Washington said. Among other things, they are directed against Iran's missile and drone program, as White House national security advisor Jake Sullivan explained. The Revolutionary Guards and the Iranian Ministry of Defense would also be attacked.

“These new sanctions and other measures will continue the current pressure to contain and weaken Iran's military capabilities and effectiveness and address the full spectrum of its problematic behavior,” Sullivan said. The United States hoped its allies and partners would follow suit with similar measures. Before Sullivan's statement, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had already indicated that sanctions were being prepared. (afp)

The United States wants to work with the G7 and China

The United States also wants to work with G7 partners and countries like China to limit Iran's access to weapons-building supplies, a senior U.S. Treasury Department official told reporters. “We will have discussions with all major suppliers in the world.” According to Foreign Affairs Representative Borrell, the EU is currently working to tighten sanctions against Iran. This should affect Iranian arms exports, including the supply of drones to Russia, Borrell explained on Tuesday afternoon after talks between EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

The idea is to expand the existing sanctions regime against Iranian drones, Borrell continued. He will ask his services to “start the necessary work in relation to sanctions.” Borrell also stated that EU countries once again condemned the Iranian attack and supported Israel's right to self-defense. “We have to step back from the brink.” The EU heads of state and government also want to discuss the consequences of the Iranian attack on Israel. An informal summit in Brussels on Wednesday will discuss, among other things, an extension of previous sanctions on Iran.

Iran attacked Israel directly from its territory for the first time on Sunday night. According to Israeli data, almost all of the more than 300 drones and missiles fired by Iran were repelled. Israel had the support of the United States, Great Britain and Jordan, among others. Tehran had described the drone and missile attacks as retaliation for an attack blamed on Israel on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus. (afp)

US Army: combated two drones in Houthi areas

The US military said it successfully engaged two drones in areas controlled by the Houthi rebels in Yemen on Tuesday. No damage or injuries were reported from US Navy, coalition or merchant ships, says US Central Command (Centcom), the US military's regional command responsible for the East Half. The Iran-backed Houthi rebels have repeatedly attacked ships in the Red Sea and the adjacent Gulf of Aden that they claim are linked to Israel. The Houthis have declared their solidarity with Hamas in the Gaza Strip and, like them and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, belong to the so-called Axis of Resistance led by Iran. (rtr)

Diplomatic circles: Security Council to vote on Palestinian UN membership on Thursday

The UN Security Council will vote Thursday on the Palestinians' request for full membership of the United Nations. Palestinian envoy to the UN, Rijad Mansour, wrote to UN Secretary-General António Guterres earlier this month calling for the Palestinians' full membership process to be resumed. However, the plan is considered unpromising because the United States has come out against it and Israel's ally can veto it.

The United States does not see that a UN resolution recommending full membership will help the Palestinians with a two-state solution. “We don't see that passing a resolution in the Security Council will necessarily get us to a point where we can find a two-state solution,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield Press said in Seoul. She responded to the question of whether the United States was willing to support the Palestinian Authority's application for full UN membership.

US President Joe Biden has categorically stated that the United States supports a two-state solution and is working to implement it as quickly as possible. According to diplomats, the autonomous authority will likely urge the 15 members of the UN Security Council to vote on Thursday on a draft resolution recommending its admission into the world community. Member Algeria has distributed the corresponding draft.

An application for full UN membership requires approval from the Security Council – where the United States has veto power – and at least two-thirds of the 193-member General Assembly. The Palestinians have had observer status at the United Nations since 2012. They have been demanding full membership for years. (afp/rtr)

Baerbock again in Israel

To prevent a new war from breaking out, diplomatic efforts are in full swing. In Israel, he will assure his interlocutors “of Germany's total solidarity and we will talk about how a new escalation with more and more violence can be avoided,” Baerbock said before his surprise announced visit, the seventh since the attack by Islamist terrorists on Israel. . on October 7. “It is now important to stop Iran without encouraging further escalation,” he said in a meeting with his Jordanian colleague Ayman al-Safadi in Berlin.

In addition to Netanyahu, the green politician wants to speak with her Israeli colleague Katz and with Benny Gantz, a member of the war cabinet. He then travels to the Italian island of Capri to attend the meeting with the foreign ministers of the G7 round of economically strong democracies. (dpa)