The US is planning new sanctions against Iran following Tehran's missile and drone attacks on Israel, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday.
Sullivan said that US President Joe Biden was "coordinating with allies and partners, including the G7, and with bipartisan leaders in Congress, on a comprehensive response" to Iran's "unprecedented air attack against Israel."
"In the coming days, the United States will impose new sanctions targeting Iran, including its missile and drone program as well as new sanctions against entities supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s Defense Ministry," Sullivan added.
"In addition, we continue to work through the Department of Defense and U.S. Central Command to further strengthen and expand the successful integration of air and missile defense and early warning systems across the Middle East to further erode the effectiveness of Iran’s missile and UAV capabilities."
On Saturday, Iran directly attacked Israel for the first time in the history of the Islamic Republic.
Tehran said it was retaliation for the killing of high-ranking Iranian officers in Syria at the start of the month.
On April 1, Iran's embassy compound in Damascus was hit by a strikebelieved to have been carried out by Israel. Two high-ranking Iranian generals were killed, among others. Israel is believed to have carried out the attack and has not denied responsibility.
Israel has been Iran's declared arch-enemy since the Islamic Revolution of 1979.
Earlier on Tuesday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that Iran must also expect new sanctions from the EU.
Following a videocall in which EU foreign ministers discussed the Iranian attack, Borrell warned: "The region is at the edge of an abyss," describing the tense situation in the Middle East. "We have to move away from it," he added.
Borrell said the EU would extend and tighten the sanctions regime but did not initially say when the new sanctions could come into force. He pointed out that there will be another regular meeting of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday.
According to Borrell, trade restrictions could be extended to make it more difficult for Iran to build missiles. There are also plans to target the delivery of drones and missiles to allies in the region.
The new punitive measures could be imposed through a sanctions regime set up after Iran began supporting the Russian war on Ukraine by supplying Moscow with drones, Borrell said.
The measures banned the export of components used for the construction and production of unmanned aerial vehicles to Iran. The bloc's top diplomat said those sanctions could be expanded to make it harder for Iran to produce missiles.