Iran slaps sanctions on US, UK over Israel support

US President Joe Biden listens to Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he reads a statement in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. US President Joe Biden landed in Tel Aviv on October 18, 2023 as Middle East anger flared after hundreds were killed when a rocket struck a hospital in war-torn Gaza, with Israel and the Palestinians quick to trade blame. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

TEHRAN — Iran announced on Thursday sanctions on several American and British individuals and entities for supporting Israel in its war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The Islamic republic, the regional arch-foe of Israel, unveiled the punitive measures in a statement from its foreign ministry.

It said the sanctions targeted seven Americans, including General Bryan P. Fenton, commander of the US special operations command, and Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, a former commander of the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.

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British officials and entities targeted include Secretary of State for Defense Grant Shapps, commander of the British army strategic command James Hockenhull and the UK Royal Navy in the Red Sea.

Penalties were also announced against US firms Lockheed Martin and Chevron and British counterparts Elbit Systems, Parker Meggitt and Rafael UK.

The ministry said the sanctions include “blocking of accounts and transactions in the Iranian financial and banking systems, blocking of assets within the jurisdiction of the Islamic Republic of Iran as well as prohibition of visa issuance and entry to the Iranian territory”.

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The impact of these measures on the individuals or entities, as well as their assets or dealings with Iran, remains unclear.

The war in the Gaza Strip erupted after the October 7 attack by Palestinian militants on Israel which killed 1,170 people, mostly civilians, according an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Iran backs Hamas but has denied any direct involvement in the attack.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed at least 34,568 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.