As Israel’s war cabinet prepared to convene for a third time on Wednesday to deliberate on a response, the US and its allies prepared new sanctions against Iran in response to its unprecedented attack on the country. The goal was to deter Israel from making a significant escalation.
Although there were no casualties or significant damages from Saturday night’s bombardment, there are now further worries that the six-month-old Gaza conflict is becoming more violent and that Iran and Israel, longtime enemies, could go to open warfare.
Iran’s launch of over 300 missiles, cruise missiles, and drones against Israeli land “will be met with a response,” according to Israel’s military chief of staff Herzi Halevi, although he did not provide any specifics.
According to an Israeli government source, Tuesday’s war cabinet meeting had been put off until Wednesday, without elaborating.
Hoping to steer Israel away from massive retaliation, the US and Europe flagged a toughening of economic and political sanctions against Iran.
The US is planning to impose new sanctions targeting Iran’s missile and drone programme in the coming days and expects its allies will be following suit, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said in a statement on Tuesday.
