Western Allies Poised To Impose Fresh Sanctions Against Iran As Biden Opposes Israeli Retaliatory Strikes

The United States and Group of Seven (G7) allies on Wednesday have agreed to work together in their response to Iran’s attack on Israel, "including imposing new sanctions," as the State Department put it, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"When we see Iran take new actions, we work with our partners to identify new ways to respond to that," Spokesperson Matthew Miller told a daily briefing. "We can always look to identify new ways to impose sanctions on Iran or to increase enforcement of our existing sanctions. Those are the measures that we’re looking at right now," he added.

When asked about Washington's targeted goal in sanctions, Miller told TURAN's correspondent that it's "to hold Iran accountable". Sanctions, he said, "are one tool in our diplomatic arsenal.  We’ll continue to use them"

Miller's comments came as President Joe Biden told reporters that he did not support Israel carrying out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. “All seven of us agree that they have a right to respond, but they should respond proportionally,” Biden said, referring to G7 allies.

The White House also said it has been in touch with Israeli officials in the aftermath of an Iranian missile attack early this week to discuss next steps. Biden himself is expected to speak with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “relatively soon,” as he put it.

Alex Raufoglu