Material pressure: Israel will support sanctions against Iran
Israel will support new Western sanctions against Iran, the Jewish state is preparing for a military scenario of escalation of the conflict, Izvestia found out. The United States is currently discussing options for airstrikes, new restrictions and cyber attacks against the Islamic Republic. The EU is also ready to increase sanctions pressure on Tehran. Experts are confident that the restrictions will primarily affect the oil sector. To reduce the degree of tension, the Iranian side held a meeting with US Special Representative Steve Witkoff. Whether what is happening will lead to a full—scale war in the Middle East is in the Izvestia article.
New sanctions against Iran
The riots that broke out in late December have not subsided in the Islamic Republic. According to media reports, more and more protesters are dying in the country every day. According to the latest data from Reuters, the number of victims has increased to 490, and more than 10,000 people have been arrested. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that the authorities are keeping the situation with the protests under control. The events immediately came to the attention of the United States: Donald Trump declared his readiness to help the demonstrators and had already threatened to strike Iran several times.
On January 13, the first official discussion of possible measures against the republic is expected at the White House. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth are due to report to the US president on what new sanctions Washington may impose against Tehran. The EU also allows for increased pressure on Iran. "I am ready to propose additional sanctions in response to the brutal suppression of demonstrators," said the head of the European Diplomacy, Kaya Kallas.
Such intentions were enthusiastically received in Israel, this country is a long—time enemy of Iran. Tel Aviv intends to support new EU and US sanctions against Tehran, Yevgeny Sova, deputy speaker of the Knesset and a member of the Our Home Israel party, told Izvestia.
— There is practically no opposition in Israel on the issue of sanctions against Iran, with the exception of some deputies from the Arab list. Iran continues its policy of destabilizing the situation in the Middle East through its proxy forces (Hezbollah, the Houthis, Shiite militias in Iraq and, of course, Hamas), Iran does not hide its desire to wipe Israel off the face of the earth and six months after the Israeli and US strike is trying to restore its missile industry, he said..
According to experts, first of all, the Americans can strengthen control over the already imposed oil sanctions, according to which all international companies are prohibited from buying hydrocarbons from Iranians. Interestingly, earlier in the White House they looked through their fingers at how Iran circumvents all restrictions, says Professor Vladimir Sazhin, senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences. First of all, this was explained by the fact that Washington wanted to restore the nuclear deal with Tehran.
"Now that everything [the possible restoration of the deal] is over, it is possible that the Americans' attention will be focused on the scrupulous implementation of these anti—oil sanctions against Iran," the expert says.
Conducting restrictions can be an alternative to a military strike, which was previously announced in Washington, Vladimir Akhmedov, a senior researcher at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, said in a conversation with Izvestia.
— So far, the issue of a strike on Iran in the United States has not yet been resolved. But in order to maintain credibility and not upset the balance of power among Trump's supporters, there is an alternative in the form of sanctions," he emphasizes.
In addition to the new restrictions, the meeting with Trump will discuss the deployment of "secret cyber weapons" against Iranian military and civilian targets, media reports say. Another topic for discussion will be the possible dispatch of Starlink terminals to provide Internet to Iranians. Earlier it became known that a few days ago, the Tehran authorities turned off the Internet in the country. In response, Trump promised to contact SpaceX CEO Elon Musk with a request to solve this problem.
How will Israel respond to Iran's attacks on American bases
After a series of statements by the US president about attacks on Iran, the Islamic Republic stressed that an armed response would follow immediately, as a result of which both Israel and American military installations in the Middle East in other countries would suffer.
"In the event of an attack on Iran, the occupied territories, as well as all American bases and ships, will become our legitimate target," said Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf.
There is no doubt that Tehran will keep its promise. It is enough to recall the events of June 2025. Then Iran and Israel exchanged military strikes, after which the United States launched cruise missiles at the nuclear facilities of the Islamic Republic. In response, Tehran attacked the US military base Al-Udeid in Qatar.
It is possible that this time the escalation will affect Tel Aviv again. Israel is monitoring developments in Iran, IDF spokesman Major Anna Ukolova told Izvestia.
— Over the weekend, several situational meetings were held in the Israel Defense Forces under the leadership of the Chief of the General Staff. The Israel Defense Forces is ready for defense and is constantly improving its capabilities and operational readiness. We will be ready to respond with force if necessary. The Israel Defense Forces will continue to act to protect the citizens of the State of Israel," she said.
At the moment, the probability that Trump will give the go-ahead for an attack on Iran is 20-25%, Vladimir Sazhin believes. Strikes may follow on the main headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and on those structures that are engaged in suppressing protests. In this case, the development of events, including subsequent strikes by Iran and Israel, could lead to a large-scale conflict throughout the Middle East, believes Vladimir Akhmedov.
According to the expert, Trump's current rhetoric suggests that the likelihood of strikes is increasing. According to US estimates, Tehran is crossing the red line by violently suppressing protests. On the other hand, in order to put an end to the escalation, the Iranian side entered into an open dialogue with Washington. So, according to Axios, on the eve of the meeting, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff took place. As expected, the main topic of the conversation was the situation with the protests and the details of holding a new meeting in the coming days.
Later, the White House said that Witkoff had an important role in the US negotiations on Iran, confirming that representatives of the Islamic Republic had contacted Washington. White House press Secretary Carolyn Levitt stressed that diplomacy remains for Trump.
the preferred solution to the problem, however, he is not afraid to use force if necessary.
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