The European Union has decided to impose new sanctions on Iran’s drone and missile programs under the pretext of Tehran's recent retaliatory operation against Israel.
The president of the European Council, Charles Michel, made the announcement at an EU summit in Brussels on Wednesday, three days after Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at the occupied territories in response to Israel’s terrorist attack against the Islamic Republic’s diplomatic premises in Syria.
“We have decided to put in place sanctions against Iran, it is a clear signal that we wanted to send,” he said.
“The idea is to target the companies that are needed for the drones, for the missiles.”
On April 1, Israeli warplanes bombed the consular annex of Iran's embassy in Damascus. The terrorist air raid killed 13 people, including seven military advisers of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).
During the weekend, Iran exercised its inherent right of self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter and conducted a large-scale retaliatory operation that involved firing over 300 missiles and drones at military sites in the occupied lands.
Some European countries made irresponsible statements regarding Iran's legitimate response to the Israeli crime in Syria that violated all international obligations and conventions.
Toeing the US's sanction line against Iran, the EU has over the past years imposed several packages of illegal bans on Iranian individuals and entities under different guises.
They consist of an asset freeze, a travel ban to the EU and a prohibition to make funds or economic resources available to those listed.