The United States and its allies punished Iran for attacking Israel and tried to avoid war

The New York Times reported on April 18, 2024, by Michael D. Shear and Michael Levenson

The United States and European allies on Thursday joined forces to impose new sanctions on Iran's military leaders and arms manufacturers, trying to punish Iran for missile and drone attacks on Israel last weekend, while suggesting that Israel should refrain from retaliating strongly so as not to provoke a larger war.

White House officials say the sanctions are aimed at leaders and entities linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran's Defense Department and Iran's government missile and drone programs. They say the sanctions are also trying to block exports from Iran's steel industry, which bring in billions of dollars in revenue for Tehran.

"I have instructed my team, including the Treasury Department, to continue to impose sanctions that further cripple Iran's military industry," President Biden said in a statement. "Let's make this clear to all those who support Iran's attack: The United States is committed to Israel's security," President Biden said in a statement.

The UK said it had imposed sanctions on seven people and six entities linked to Iran's regional military activities and its attacks on Israel, which British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called "reckless behaviour and a dangerous escalation".

"These sanctions, announced jointly with the United States, demonstrate our unequivocal condemnation of such acts, and they will further limit Iran's ability to destabilize the region," Mr Sunak said in a statement.

European Council President Charles Michel said that the European Union will impose sanctions on Iran's drone and missile programs in the coming days to "isolate Iran".

Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Israel Katz welcomed the new sanctions.

"This is our opportunity to form a global front and regional coalition with the United States, the European Union and moderate Arab states against Iran to stop the smugglers that threaten global stability," Mr. Katz wrote on social media. We must stop Iran now before it will be too late".

But it is far from clear whether the new restrictions will curb Iran's military activities, which has been finding ways to circumvent hundreds of Western sanctions for decades, in part through illegal oil shipments. It is also far from clear whether the sanctions will convince Israel not to retaliate against Iran's attack on Saturday night.

Last October, the Biden administration announced similar sanctions on Iran's drone and missile programs, which officials said at the time were aimed at thwarting Iran's ability to produce the weapons it used to attack Israel.

Iran said it launched the attack in response to an April 1 airstrike on Iran's diplomatic mission in Syria that killed at least three senior Iranian commanders and four other officials who oversaw Iran's covert operations in the Middle East.

Since the attack, the Israeli War Cabinet has met several times to discuss when and how to respond to attacks by more than 300 ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones, which were almost all intercepted by warplanes and air defense systems from Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Jordan.

The United States, Britain, Germany, and others are urging Israel to exercise restraint in order to prevent a full-scale war between Iran and Israel. U.S. officials told their Israeli counterparts to view success in defending off an Iranian attack as a victory — a testament to Israel's superiority and Iran's incompetence.

On Thursday, UN Secretary-General António Guterres also tried to calm tensions in the region.

"One miscalculation, one miscommunication, one misstep can lead to an unimaginable outcome: a full-blown regional conflict that will be devastating to all parties involved and the rest of the world," Mr. Guterres told the UN Security Council. Mr. Guterres told the UN Security Council that "maximum restraint must be exercised in the most dangerous moments".

However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel would not succumb to external pressure. On Wednesday, after a meeting with the foreign ministers of Great Britain and Germany, he announced that Israel would "do everything necessary to defend itself" and that "we will make our own decisions".

Iran's leaders have recently vowed to strike back more forcefully against Israel if it attacks Iran. Major General Ahmed Hagtarab, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) responsible for protecting Iran's nuclear sites, said on Thursday that if Israel attacks one of the nuclear sites, "the hand is already on the trigger" to strike at Israel's nuclear facilities, Iranian state news media reported.

Amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, the U.N. Security Council weighed Thursday whether to support Palestine's application for full membership of the U.N.

The United States vetoed the measure and was the only member of the Security Council to vote against it. Twelve countries voted in favour and two abstained.

A negative vote on any of the five permanent members would prevent the Council from taking any action. Of the five permanent members, France, Russia and China voted in favour of the resolution to raise the status of Palestine, with Britain abstaining.

At the United Nations, Palestine is currently granted a lower observer status like the Holy See.

But more than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel's military assault on Gaza, and many more have been left homeless and starving, according to local health officials. While pushing for recognition of the State of Palestine, Israel is expanding its settlements in the occupied West Bank.

The Israeli government strongly opposes the UN resolution, with its Foreign Minister Israel Katz calling it a "shameful proposal".

Speaking to the Security Council before the vote, Palestinian representative Ziyad Abu Amr challenged the United States on Thursday not to block the resolution.

"How can granting a Palestinian State full membership to the United Nations, similar to that of the rest of the world, jeopardize the prospects for peace between Palestinians and Israelis?" he said: "How can such recognition and such membership undermine international peace and security?"

But the Biden administration has always maintained that a negotiated solution to the Palestinian state must be negotiated by Israel.

Robert Wood, U.S. representative to the Security Council on Thursday, said: "This vote does not reflect opposition to Palestinian statehood, but rather acknowledges that Palestinian statehood can only be achieved through direct negotiations between the two sides."

In addition, he said, the Palestinian Authority is not ready for statehood – in part because it cannot control Gaza, which Hamas has controlled for years.

Critics argue that Israel's land grabs and other actions in the West Bank are making it increasingly difficult for a future Palestinian state to stand.