(Bloomberg) -- US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that her department is prepared to use its economic tools against Iran in response to its recent attack on Israel.
“Treasury will not hesitate to work with our allies to use our sanctions authority to continue disrupting the Iranian regime's malign and destabilizing activity,” Yellen said Tuesday in remarks she's scheduled to deliver Tuesday before a press conference in Washington.
Her comments come as finance ministers and central bank governors from across the world gather in Washington for the International Monetary Fund's spring meetings. Geopolitical developments are set to once again dominate the discussions, with conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East continuing to pose a threat to the global economy.
“From this weekend's attack to the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, Iran's actions threaten the region's stability and could cause economic spillovers,” Yellen said.
Over the weekend, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missile against Israel in retaliation for a deadly strike against Iran's consulate in Syria on April 1 that Tehran has blamed on Israel.
European Union officials are also contemplating fresh sanctions on Iran over the attack.
Ukraine Aid
Western allies are expected to discuss the situation in Ukraine this week and seek to rally fresh financing against a backdrop of deepening concerns over the possible collapse of Ukrainian defenses.
Finance ministers from the Group of Seven will meet on Wednesday on the sidelines of the IMF gatherings and are expected to discuss ways to tap the value of more than $280 billion of Russian central bank assets that have been immobilized as a way to raise much-needed funds for Ukraine.
The US had been pushing to confiscate the assets, or at least find ways to raise funds based on their expected future profits, but some G-7 peers including Germany and France remain cautious over such moves.
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