Canada on Thursday joined the United States and Britain in imposing additional sanctions on Iran over its unprecedented missile and drone attack on Israel earlier this month.
Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly announced that Ottawa will sanction Iranian Defense Minister Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, the Armed Forces General Staff, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Command and its commander Gholam Ali Rashid.
“Today's action sends a clear message: Canada and our allies are ready and will not balk at the Iranian regime's efforts to destabilize peace and security in the region,” Jolie said in a statement. We will take action without delay.”
Qatam al-Anbiya Central Command is the main headquarters of the Iranian military.
US and UK sanctions were also announced Thursday, targeting Iran's drone industry. The UK also announced that it would introduce a new ban on the export of drones and missile parts to Iran in a bid to limit Iran's military capabilities.
Both countries said the sanctions were a response to Iran's attack on Israel, but the U.S. Treasury Department said they were also aimed at stopping Iran from supplying drones to Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Thursday's action came after the United States and Britain imposed coordinated sanctions against Iranian military personnel and entities in response to attacks on Israel.
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Iran fired more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel on April 13th, and on April 1st, Israel carried out an airstrike on the grounds of the Iranian embassy in Damascus, killing elite military personnel. This was the first direct attack on the country in retaliation.
Most of the missiles and drones launched by Iran were intercepted by Israel, the US-led coalition and Israeli air defense systems. On April 19, there was a suspected Israeli drone attack on an Iranian airfield, but Iran has downplayed the incident and said it will not retaliate further.
The Israeli and American militaries have not officially acknowledged Israeli involvement in the April 1 and April 19 attacks.
—With files from Reuters
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