EU leaders vow to impose tougher sanctions against Iran as Ukraine’s president pleads for support

BRUSSELS — European Union leaders vowed on Wednesday to ramp up sanctions against Iran as concern grows that Tehran’s unprecedented attack on Israel could fuel a wider war in the Middle East. In a statement released after the first day of their summit, which also focused on the war in Ukraine and ways to boost the bloc’s economic competitiveness, the leaders warned that the EU “will take further restrictive measures against Iran, notably in relation to unmanned aerial vehicles and missiles.” The statement also called “on Iran and its proxies to cease all attacks " and urged all sides to exercise “utmost restraint and to refrain from any action that may increase tensions in the region.” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has tasked his staff with drawing up new measures but expanding sanctions, however, is not a simple step — the EU has already targeted those responsible for making drones that Iran has sold to Russia for use in its war against Ukraine. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, whose country currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said his position is that the " Iranian Revolutionary Guard should be put on the sanctions list” and that this “would be a very important signal.” But that would pose legal challenges. The United States is also preparing new sanctions targeting Iran’s missile and drone program and entities supporting the Revolutionary Guard and Iran’s Defense Ministry, according to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan. The EU leaders also renewed their call for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and the release of hostages, as well as the provision of “full, rapid, safe and unhindered access to humanitarian aid at scale for Palestinians in need.” Regional tensions have mounted since the Oct. 7 start of the latest Israel-Hamas war, when Palestinian militant Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups, backed by Iran, carried out a devastating cross-border attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel and seized 250 as hostages.