Canada on Thursday joined the United States and the United Kingdom in imposing additional sanctions on Iran for its unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel earlier this month.
Foreign Minister Melanie Joly announced that Ottawa was sanctioning Iran’s Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, the armed forces staff, Khatam al-Anbiya central headquarters and its commander, Gholam Ali Rashid. .
“Today’s actions send a clear message: Canada and its allies are prepared and will not hesitate to take action against the Iranian regime as it seeks to destabilize regional peace and security,” Joly said in a statement.
Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters is the main command headquarters of the Iranian Armed Forces.
US and UK sanctions also announced Thursday targeted Iran’s drone industry. Britain also said it would introduce new bans on the export of drone and missile components to Iran, seeking to limit its military capabilities.
While both countries said the sanctions were in response to Iran’s attack on Israel, the US Treasury said it was also seeking to thwart Tehran’s supply of drones to Russia in its invasion of Ukraine.
Thursday’s actions come after the United States and the United Kingdom imposed coordinated sanctions on Iranian military figures and organizations in response to the attack on Israel.
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Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles on April 13 against Israel, its first direct attack against the country, in retaliation for an alleged Israeli airstrike on its embassy compound in Damascus on April 1 that killed elite military officers. .
Most of the missiles and drones launched by Iran were intercepted by coalition forces led by Israel and the United States, as well as Israeli air defense systems. An alleged Israeli drone attack on an Iranian airfield occurred on April 19, but Iran has downplayed the incident and said it will not retaliate further.
The Israeli and US militaries have not publicly confirmed that Israel was behind the April 1 or April 19 attacks.
—With Reuters files
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