(19 Apr 2024)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Capri – 19 April 2024
1. SOUNDBITE (English) Antony Blinken, US Secretary of State:
"First, the G7 condemned the unprecedented Iranian attack on Israel. Unprecedented in scope and scale. Scope because it was a direct attack on Israel from Iran, scale because it involved more than 300 munitions, including ballistic missiles. We’re committed to Israel’s security. We’re also committed to de-escalating, to trying to bring, this tension to, to a close. You saw as well, or you’ll see soon in the G7 statement, a commitment to hold Iran to account. To account for its de-stabilizing activities, holding it to account by degrading its missile and drone capabilities. And yesterday, the United States announced additional sanctions on Iran targeting UAV programs, the steel industry, companies that are associated with the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps), the Ministry of Defense and its armed forces logistics. The G7 statement makes clear that G7 countries will adopt, additional sanctions or other measures in the days ahead."
++ENDS ON SOUNDBITE++
STORYLINE:
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday G7 ministers were adopting "new sanctions and other measures" against Iran in the coming days.
Blinken was speaking at a news conference in Capri, Italy, where G7 ministers are meeting.
An apparent Israeli drone attack on Iran saw troops fire air defenses at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday morning near the central city of Isfahan, an assault coming in retaliation for Tehran’s unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
No Iranian official directly acknowledged the possibility that Israel attacked, and the Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment.
However, tensions have been high since the Saturday assault on Israel amid its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip and its own strikes targeting Iran in Syria.
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