CAPRI, Italy
Group of Seven foreign ministers are meeting on the resort island of Capri amid calls for new sanctions against Iran over its attack against Israel and more aid to Ukraine to fight Russia’s war.
Under Italy’s stewardship of
the rotating presidency, the G7 leaders are expected to issue a united call for
Israel to exercise restraint after Iran’s unprecedented weekend attack
involving hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles fired
toward the Jewish state.
Italian Foreign Minister
Antonio Tajani told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Italy supported
targeted new sanctions against Tehran, specifically against the makers of
drones used in the weekend attack and others launched by Tehran-backed militias
in Lebanon, Gaza and Yemen's Houthi rebels.
The United States, Britain,
and several European Union countries have suggested expanding current sanctions
regimes against Tehran over its support of Russia's war in Ukraine to include
drone and missile deliveries to Iran's Mideast proxies.
“So, for example, people
sending drones to Houthis? Sanctions,” Tajani said, adding that he expected the
G7 ministers to discuss the options in Capri.
Tajani was meeting later Wednesday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
With Israel's war in Gaza in
its sixth month, Tehran's attack added a new element of urgency to the
three-day meeting of foreign ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany,
Italy, Japan and the United States, gathering on the picturesque island that
has long been a playground for the European jet-set.
German Foreign Minister
Annalena Baerbock also called for new sanctions against Tehran and made a
last-minute visit to Israel that made her miss Tajani's welcome ceremony on
Capri, which was also not attended by other late-arriving ministers.The EU summit on Wednesday, slated to discuss EU economic competitiveness, was overtaken by recent events in the Middle East
“We will discuss how a further
escalation with more and more violence can be prevented," she said.
“Because what matters now is to put a stop to Iran without encouraging further
escalation.”
Germany, a staunch ally of
Israel, has been among the chorus of European and U.S. leaders urging Israel to
de-escalate tensions and not retaliate for Tehran’s attack, which was largely
repelled thanks to U.S. and allied help.
In Washington, White House
national security adviser Jake Sullivan said expected new U.S. sanctions would
target Iran’s missile and drone program and entities supporting the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran’s Defense Ministry.
“We anticipate that our allies
and partners will soon be following with their own sanctions,” Sullivan said in
a statement.
British Foreign Secretary
David Cameron said he would push for “coordinated sanctions against Iran” at
the meeting. He argued that Tehran was orchestrating “so much of the malign
activity in this region” from Hamas in Gaza, to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon
to the Houthi rebels in Yemen who are behind attacks on shipping in the Red
Sea.
“They need to be given a clear
and unequivocal message by the G-7 and I hope that will happen,” Cameron told
broadcasters during a visit to Israel.
Russia’s two-year war in
Ukraine is also high on the agenda, with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro
Kuleba and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg invited to the Capri meeting
on Thursday as guests.
Kuleba is expected to
underline his country’s need for essential military support, including
artillery, ammunition, and air defense systems to bolster its capacity as
Russia pushes along the front line.
“If we want to achieve peace,
we need to have a position without the defeat of the Ukrainian army,” Tajani
told the AP, acknowledging the holdup in U.S. funding was hurting Ukraine
militarily but expressing hope that the impasse would be resolved.
“We believe it is important to
back (Ukraine) also at the military level with weapons,” he said.
The United States and several
European countries are discussing proposals to use the profits generated from
billions of euros of frozen Russian assets to help provide weapons and other
funds for Ukraine, proposals that have gathered steam as U.S. efforts to get
new funds for weapons have stalled in Congress.
“It is vital that we agree a
way forward to use sanctioned Russian assets to support Ukraine and ensure
Russia pays for the destruction it has wreaked,” Cameron said.
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