Iran-Israel war: US to impose fresh sanctions on Iran; IDF vows retaliation for strikes | 10-points

The United States has warned that it will impose fresh sanctions on Iran following its unprecedented air attack on Israel.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen announced on Tuesday that new sanctions on Tehran, potentially aimed at diminishing the country's oil export capacity, would be imposed within days.  

Meanwhile, while the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) has asserted its intention to strike back against the attack, world leaders have urged Israel not to retaliate.

Iran launched a barrage of projectiles against Israel following Tel Aviv's attack on Tehran's embassy in Syria on April 1, which resulted in the killing of two Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

Here are the top 10 updates on this big story:

• Sanctions on Iran: The US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Washingtgon will impose new sanctions on Iran. The new sanctions will target Iran’s missile and drone programs, as well as groups backing the country’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and its defense ministry.

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• UN appeals for peace: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for “urgent de-escalation” of hostilities in a telephonic conversation with Iran’s foreign minister. Guterres also called for “a renewed focus on bringing peace to the Middle East".
• IDF displays Iranian missile: The Israeli military has displayed one of the Iranian ballistic missiles that was intercepted over the weekend. The IDF displayed the remnants of one of the missiles at an army base in southern Israel and alleged that each warhead carried 500 kilos (over half a ton) of explosives.
• Spain calls for recognizing a Palestinian state: Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said that an independent Palestinian state should be recognized as soon as possible. “Spain will strive for Palestine to become a full member of the UN," Sanchez said.

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• Turkey slams the West: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused Western countries of double standards for speaking out against Iran. “Those who remained silent against Israel’s aggressive attitude immediately raced to condemn Iran’s response,” Erdogan said.
• Pakistan and Saudi Arabia call for ceasefire: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have called for an immediate ceasefire and uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza. Pakistan’s foreign minister described the killings in Gaza as “genocide” and said that the “world’s conscience must wake up".
• Israel's drone strike kills 1: An Israeli drone strike on a car in southern Lebanon killed a commander with the militant Hezbollah group and wounded two others on Tuesday night while another strike later in a nearby area inflicted casualties.

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• Israel vs Iran: An Iranian official said they will immediately respond if Israel responds to its retaliatory attack.
• UN tells Israel to stop attacks on Palestinians: Israeli security forces “must immediately end their active participation in and support for settler attacks on Palestinians," the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said. Israel captured the West Bank in the 1967 Mideast War and has built scores of settlements there that are now home to over 500,000 Jewish settlers. The Palestinians want the West Bank, which is home to some 3 million Palestinians, to form the main part of their future state. Violence has surged in the West Bank since the October 7 Hamas attack out of Gaza.

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• Death toll in Gaza surpasses 33,800: The overall Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war has surged to 33,843 (approx), the Gaza health ministry said.