Brussels:
European Union leaders agreed on Wednesday to impose new sanctions on Iranian drone and missile makers over Tehran's unprecedented attack on Israel this weekend, EU chief Charles Michel said.
“We have decided to introduce sanctions against Iran, it is a clear signal that we wanted to send,” the president of the European Council said at an EU summit in Brussels.
“The idea is to attack the companies that are needed for the drones, for the missiles.”
Iran launched an unprecedented drone and missile attack on Israel over the weekend, causing little damage after most of the projectiles were intercepted.
Tehran's first-ever direct attack on Israeli soil came in response to a deadly attack on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, which was blamed on Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country will decide how to respond to Iran's attack as world powers call for restraint to avoid escalation.
EU leaders, in their summit statement, urged “all parties to exercise the utmost restraint and to refrain from any action that could increase tensions in the region.”
The EU has already imposed sanctions on Iran over its supply of drones to Russia due to the war in Ukraine, but these have had little effect in severing ties between Tehran and Moscow.
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