Response to missile attack
Updated on October 12, 2024, 7:52 a.m
The new US sanctions against Iran affect companies that are active in the Iranian oil trade, as well as several ships that transport Iranian oil. © picture alliance / AA | Indonesia Maritime Security Agency
The US has imposed sanctions on Iran after attacks on Israel. The aim is to disrupt the revenues of Iran’s nuclear program, missile development and support for terrorist organizations. The EU is also planning sanctions against Iran.
The US is imposing new sanctions against the Islamic Republic in response to the Iranian missile attack on Israel. Secretary of State Antony Blinken explained that these measures are aimed at cutting off the Iranian government’s revenue for its nuclear program, missile development and support for terrorist organizations.
The US sanctions announcement came as Israel and its key ally were in talks over Israel’s plans for a military retaliation against Iran. Meanwhile, the highest Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur, has begun in Israel. All public life in the country is at a standstill.
According to the US State Department, companies that are active in the Iranian oil trade and several ships that transport Iranian oil are affected by the new US sanctions against Iran. Iran fired around 200 rockets at Israel on October 1st. Israel threatened “deadly and precise” retaliation. US President Joe Biden advised Israel against attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities and its oil industry. US officials feared that a strike on Iran’s facilities could prompt Tehran to attack oil fields in Saudi Arabia and potentially force the US to intervene militarily, the Wall Street Journal wrote.
EU is also planning sanctions against Iran
Iran has warned Arab countries that it could retaliate against them if they allow Israel to use their airspace to attack targets in Iran, it said. Meanwhile, the EU also wants to impose new sanctions against Iran on Monday. According to diplomats, the member states want to respond to Iran’s delivery of ballistic missiles to Russia. This step is seen as a new breach of taboo because of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine.
Meanwhile, fighting continues between Israel and its enemies in Lebanon and Gaza. Although Yom Kippur is observed as a day of rest and fasting, Israeli soldiers in the combat zones are prohibited from fasting, the Times of Israel reported. At the same time, Israel is on high alert in view of the ongoing rocket fire from Lebanon and increasing tensions with Iran.
Israeli military: Over 200 rockets fired on Friday
In the first hours of the Yom Kippur holiday alone, more than 120 rockets were fired at Israel, the Israeli newspaper reported. In the evening, the military spoke of a total of 230 projectiles fired at Israel on Friday. Warning sirens wailed again at night in the north of the country, as the army announced.
A building in the seaside resort of Herzliya was damaged in the attack by two drones on the greater Tel Aviv area. According to the Israeli military, no one was harmed. Air defense detected two drones on the way to Israel and intercepted one of them. The military did not specify whether the damage to the building was caused by the drone not being intercepted or by falling debris from defense missiles.
The drones were allegedly launched by the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. Israel’s military has massively intensified its crackdown on the pro-Iranian militia in the past three weeks. According to the Ministry of Health in Beirut, dozens of people were once again killed in air strikes in Lebanon. It remained unclear how many of these were members of Hezbollah. The information could not be independently verified.
Biden: Israel should not fire on UN peacekeepers
US President Joe Biden says he wants to ask the Israeli government to stop attacks on peacekeepers in Lebanon. A journalist asked Biden at an appointment at the White House: “Are you calling on Israel to stop attacking UN peacekeepers?” To which Biden replied: “Absolutely.” According to the United Nations, two peacekeepers from the UN mission Unifil were injured when two explosions occurred near an observation post at the headquarters in Nakura.
According to the UN, Israeli troops had previously shelled the headquarters and injured at least two UN soldiers. The UN observer mission has been monitoring the border area between Lebanon and Israel for decades. More than 10,000 UN soldiers from around 50 countries are involved. Israel accused Hezbollah of using areas near Blue Helmet mission bases for its own purposes. Meanwhile, Spain also summoned Israel’s diplomatic representative to the Foreign Ministry to protest against the “unjustified attacks” on the UN peacekeepers.
Blinken: USA wants diplomatic solution
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke on the phone with the Lebanese parliament speaker Nabih Berri and Lebanon’s acting head of government Najib Mikati. Blinken reiterated the US’s commitment to a diplomatic solution to the conflict, his ministry announced. He also emphasized the importance of state institutions in the post-conflict stabilization of the country and the need to fill the current presidential vacancy through democratic means. Blinken also expressed his condolences for the civilian victims and those displaced.
Hezbollah has been attacking Israel with rockets and grenades for a year – out of “solidarity” with the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip, as it says. Israel wants to drive Hezbollah from the Israeli-Lebanese border so that around 60,000 evacuated Israelis can return to their homes. However, the pro-Iranian militia only wants to stop shelling once there is a ceasefire in the Gaza war. UN Resolution 1701 prohibits the militia’s presence in the border area. The Israeli military must therefore withdraw behind the so-called Blue Line – the Lebanese-Israeli border.
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