Britain imposes sanctions on key Iranian military
Britain has announced travel bans and asset freezes against senior Iranian missile commanders who launched attacks against Israel.
A total of 13 individuals and entities, including the leadership of Iran’s armed forces and the country’s defence minister, have been sanctioned in the latest action taken by the Government.
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Lord Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, announced the action during the G7 summit in Italy, which he said showed “our unequivocal condemnation of Iran’s attack on a sovereign state”.
Individuals sanctioned, including defence minister Brig Gen Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, will be subject to a travel ban and asset freezes.
Among the entities sanctioned is the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy, one of Iran’s two naval forces, and the Khatemolanbia Central Headquarters, responsible for operational command of the nation’s armed forces.
The new sanctions came less than a week after the UK joined the US and France in helping Israel shoot down some of the 350 drones, missiles and rockets fired by Iran on Saturday.
The US has also announced its own wave of sanctions against 16 individuals and two entities, particularly targeting Iran’s unarmed aerial vehicle production.
US president Joe Biden said in a statement that their sanctions regime targeted leaders and entities “connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Iran’s defence ministry, and the Iranian government’s missile and drone programme that enabled this brazen assault.”
Rishi Sunak said: “Today, we have sanctioned the ringleaders of the Iranian military and forces responsible for the weekend’s attack.
“These sanctions – announced with the US – show we unequivocally condemn this behaviour, and they will further limit Iran’s ability to destabilise the region.”
On Tuesday, Mr Sunak held a telephone call with Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, telling him that the G7 was “coordinating a diplomatic response”.
However, he warned Mr Netanyahu that a “significant escalation was in no one’s interest and would only deepen insecurity in the Middle East”.
The UK has already sanctioned several Iranians along with the IRGC, but the Government has come under increasing pressure to go a step further and proscribe the organisation as a terrorist group.
On Monday, Lord Cameron argued that proscription would jeopardise diplomatic ties with Tehran and threaten a key back channel for communicating with the regime.
