US slaps new sanctions on Iran’s drone program as Israel considers response to weekend attack

The United States slapped new sanctions Thursday on sixteen people and two entities associated with Iran’s drone program as it looks to punish Tehran for last weekend’s attack on Israel.

The United States slapped new sanctions Thursday on 16 people and two entities associated with Iran’s drone program as it looks to punish Tehran for last weekend’s attack on Israel. The sanctions target executives of an engine manufacturer that supplies Iran’s Shahad-131 drones, which were used in the onslaught, as well as companies that service the engines and individuals associated with providing the drones to Iranian proxy forces throughout the Middle East. The Treasury Department also said it was punishing five companies associated with Iran’s steel industry and three subsidiaries of an Iranian automaker. The new sanctions, which were coordinated with European allies, are an effort to cut off supplies to Iran’s missile and drone program and to isolate the country on the global stage. But they are also a signal to Israel from the United States and its top allies that countering Iran’s latest aggression doesn’t necessarily require a military response. In a statement accompanying the announcement of the sanctions, President Joe Biden said the US will “not hesitate” to hold Iran accountable.