The G7 eyes targeted sanctions on Iran and a message of restraint as ministers meet in Italy

CAPRI, Italy (AP) — Group of Seven foreign ministers are meeting on the Italian resort island of Capri, with the agenda topped by calls Wednesday for targeted new sanctions against Iran over its attack against Israel and more aid to Ukraine to fight Russia’s war.

Under Italy’s stewardship of the rotating presidency, the G7 leaders are expected to issue a united call for Israel to exercise restraint after Iran’s unprecedented weekend attack involving hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles fired toward the Jewish state.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Italy supported targeted new sanctions against Tehran, specifically against the makers of drones used in the weekend attack and others launched by Tehran-backed militias in Lebanon, Gaza and Yemen.

“So, for example, people sending drones to Houthi? Sanctions,” Tajani said, adding that other European Union foreign ministers agreed and that he expected the G7 ministers to discuss possible new sanctions this week in Capri.

Tajani is to meet later Wednesday with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

With Israel's war in Gaza in its sixth month, Tehran's attack added a new element of urgency to the three-day meeting of foreign ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also called for new sanctions against Tehran and was making a last-minute visit to Israel before arriving on Capri later Wednesday.

“We will discuss how a further escalation with more and more violence can be prevented," she said. “Because what matters now is to put a stop to Iran without encouraging further escalation.”

Germany, a staunch ally of Israel, has been among the chorus of European and U.S. leaders urging Israel to de-escalate tensions and not retaliate for Tehran’s attack, which was largely repelled thanks to U.S. and allied help.

In Washington, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said expected new U.S. sanctions would target Iran’s missile and drone program and entities supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iran’s Defense Ministry.

“We anticipate that our allies and partners will soon be following with their own sanctions,” Sullivan said in a statement.

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said he would push for “coordinated sanctions against Iran” at the meeting. He argued that Tehran was orchestrating “so much of the malign activity in this region” from Hamas in Gaza, to Hezbollah in southern Lebanon to the Houthi rebels in Yemen who are behind attacks on shipping in the Red Sea.

“They need to be given a clear and unequivocal message by the G-7 and I hope that will happen,” Cameron told broadcasters during a visit to Israel.

Russia’s two-year war in Ukraine is also high on the agenda, with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg invited to the Capri meeting on Thursday as guests. Kuleba is expected to underline his country’s need for essential military support, including artillery, ammunition, and air defense systems to bolster its capacity as Russia pushes along the front line.

“If we want to achieve peace, we need to have a position without the defeat of the Ukrainian army,” Tajani told AP in Capri, acknowledging the holdup in U.S. funding was hurting Ukraine militarily but expressing hope that the impasse would be resolved.

“We believe it is important to back (Ukraine) also at the military level with weapons,” he said.

The United States and several European countries are discussing proposals to use the profits generated from billions of euros of frozen Russian assets to help provide weapons and other funds for Ukraine, proposals that have gathered steam as U.S. efforts to get new funds for weapons have stalled in Congress.

At the European Union level, EU leaders are to discuss the proposal at a summit Wednesday in Brussels. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, meanwhile, is expected in Capri.

Tajani said Italy was “absolutely in favor” of the proposal in principal but was awaiting a more detailed analysis of the legality of such a move.

The 27-nation EU is holding around 200 billion euros ($217 billion) in Russian central bank assets, most of it frozen in Belgium, in retaliation for Moscow’s war against Ukraine. The bloc estimates that the interest on that money could provide around 3 billion euros ($3.3 billion) each year.

The Biden administration is also looking into the possibility of tapping into Russian assets. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said Tuesday she will meet separately with G7 finance ministers to discuss, among other things, Russian sovereign assets.

“We’re looking at a series of possibilities ranging from actually seizing the assets to using them as collateral,” she told reporters in Washington.

She said Ukraine needs more help and she fears that Russia is beginning to see signs that the U.S. and its allies are ""tiring and finding it more difficult to find ways to support Ukraine."

“That makes us focused on finding a way to unlock economic value and a stream of resources from the Russian sovereign assets” that have been immobilized, she said.

The European Central Bank has warned in the past against seizing Russian assets themselves as this could undermine confidence in the euro currency and EU markets. But Borrell has said that under the EU plan, no assets would be taken, only the windfall profits they make.

On the Mideast front, tensions have ramped up since the start of the latest Israel-Hamas war on Oct. 7, when Hamas and Islamic Jihad, two militant groups backed by Iran, carried out a devastating cross-border attack that killed 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped 250 others. Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that has caused widespread devastation and killed over 33,800 people, according to local health officials.

World leaders have urged Israel not to retaliate after Iran launched a revenge mission that pushed the Middle East closer to a regionwide war. The attack happened less than two weeks after a suspected Israeli strike in Syria killed two Iranian generals in an Iranian consular building.

Winfield reported from Naples, Italy. Fatima Hussein in Washington and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed.

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell arrives for the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting, on the Island of Capri, Italy, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Group of Seven foreign ministers are meeting on the Italian resort island of Capri, with soaring tensions in the Mideast and Russia's continuing war in Ukraine topping the agenda. The meeting runs April 17-19. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa arrives for the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting, on the Island of Capri, Italy, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Group of Seven foreign ministers are meeting on the Italian resort island of Capri, with soaring tensions in the Mideast and Russia's continuing war in Ukraine topping the agenda. The meeting runs April 17-19. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell arrives for the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting, on the Island of Capri, Italy, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Group of Seven foreign ministers are meeting on the Italian resort island of Capri, with soaring tensions in the Mideast and Russia's continuing war in Ukraine topping the agenda. The meeting runs April 17-19. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell arrives for the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting, on the Island of Capri, Italy, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Group of Seven foreign ministers are meeting on the Italian resort island of Capri, with soaring tensions in the Mideast and Russia's continuing war in Ukraine topping the agenda. The meeting runs April 17-19. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani arrives for the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting, on the Island of Capri, Italy, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Group of Seven foreign ministers are meeting on the Italian resort island of Capri, with soaring tensions in the Mideast and Russia's continuing war in Ukraine topping the agenda. The meeting runs April 17-19. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani arrives for the G7 Foreign Ministers meeting, on the Island of Capri, Italy, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Group of Seven foreign ministers are meeting on the Italian resort island of Capri, with soaring tensions in the Mideast and Russia's continuing war in Ukraine topping the agenda. The meeting runs April 17-19. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives at the U.S. Naval Support Activity base, in Naples, Italy, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, ahead of the G7 foreign ministers summit on Capri island. (Ciro De Luca/Pool Photo via AP)

Italian Carabinieri paramilitary policemen patrol in downtown Capri, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Group of Seven foreign ministers are meeting on the Italian resort island of Capri, with soaring tensions in the Mideast and Russia's continuing war in Ukraine topping the agenda. The meeting runs April 17-19. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives at the U.S. Naval Support Activity base, in Naples, Italy, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, ahead of the G7 foreign ministers summit on Capri island. (Ciro De Luca/Pool Photo via AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrives at the U.S. Naval Support Activity base, in Naples, Italy, Wednesday, April 17, 2024, ahead of the G7 foreign ministers summit on Capri island. (Ciro De Luca/Pool Photo via AP)

Italian Carabinieri paramilitary policemen gather at the Capri's harbour, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Group of Seven foreign ministers are meeting on the Italian resort island of Capri, with soaring tensions in the Mideast and Russia's continuing war in Ukraine topping the agenda. The meeting runs April 17-19. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

The bronze sculpture by Giacinto Bosco titled "swing on the moon" is backdropped by Capri's harbour, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. Group of Seven foreign ministers are meeting on the Italian resort island of Capri, with soaring tensions in the Mideast and Russia's continuing war in Ukraine topping the agenda. The meeting runs April 17-19. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

FILE - Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani listens to questions during a press conference on G7 at the Foreign Ministry in Rome, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024. Group of Seven foreign ministers are holding a three-day meeting on the Italian resort island of Capri, starting Wednesday, April 17, with soaring tensions in the Mideast and Russia’s continuing war in Ukraine. Tajani said he spoke to Israel's Foreign Minister Israel Katz, on Tuesday, and urged Israel to not only de-escalate any reaction to Iran’s attack but to stave off a planned offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah. (AP Photo/Domenico Stinellis, File)

CHICAGO (AP) — Max Kepler had a tiebreaking RBI single in the ninth inning, and the Minnesota Twins beat the Chicago White Sox 3-2 on Monday night for their eighth straight win.

Byron Buxton doubled to lead off the ninth against John Brebbia (0-1). Kepler, who entered the game as a pinch-hitter in the sixth, then drove him in with a line-drive single to right.

“You gotta be able to win tight games,” Buxton said. “There’s going to be some days where you’re winning blowouts, but to be able to battle like we did today against tough pitching and put some at-bats together to win today is big.”

Caleb Thielbar pitched out of a first-and-third jam in the ninth, striking out Korey Lee to end the game after walking Tommy Pham and giving up a two-out single to Robbie Grossman.

Joe Ryan threw six solid innings for the Twins. Coming off a win against the White Sox last week at Target Field, he gave up two runs and six hits.

“He ended up giving us a really nice outing,” Twins manager Rocco Baldelli said. “There are days when you’re pitching and you’re really sharp and everything’s crisp and you’re missing a bunch of bats. But there are other days kind of like today where a six-inning start, that’s a heck of an accomplishment when you’re battling at the beginning of the game.

Brock Stewart worked the seventh, Griffin Jax (2-2) dodged a first-and-second jam in the eighth when he struck out Eloy Jiménez to end that threat, and Thielbar finished up to earn his second save.

Carlos Santana hit a two-run homer in the second to tie the score before Minnesota beat Chicago for the 12th time in the last 13 games. The Twins also matched their best winning streak since also winning eight straight in June 2011.

“It’s baseball, you just gotta keep grinding,” Kepler said. “The season started on a cold front offensively, and you just gotta keep battling and have each other’s backs.”

Andrew Vaughn lined an RBI double and scored in a two-run first to give the White Sox a 2-0 lead, but they couldn’t hang on after winning a season-high three in a row.

Garrett Crochet pitched five innings for the White Sox, allowing two runs and five hits after dropping his previous three starts. The left-hander struck out seven and walked one.

“I felt like it took me a minute to get going,” Crochet said. “I felt like giving up the homer kind of flipped the switch for me. And then I felt like I was kind of on autopilot for the rest of the game.”

Brad Keller pitched around two walks in the sixth and retired the first two batters in the seventh before Christian Vázquez reached on a throwing error by third baseman Danny Mendick. Tim Hill then got Alex Kirilloff to ground out with a runner on second.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Twins: SS Carlos Correa was reinstated from the 10-day injured list after he missed 16 games with a strained right rib cage muscle and went 0 for 4. He was hurt checking his swing during a strikeout on April 12. Minnesota optioned utility player Austin Martin to Triple-A St. Paul.

UP NEXT

RHP Michael Soroka (0-3, 6.83 ERA) will take the mound for the White Sox after lasting five innings, giving up four hits and striking out one against the Twins on Thursday. RHP Simeon Woods Richardson (1-0, 2.45) starts for Minnesota. He went five innings against Chicago last week, allowing seven hits and striking out six.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Joe Ryan throws against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning of a baseball game Monday, April 29, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Minnesota Twins' Carlos Santana (30) celebrates after his two-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox, Monday, April 29, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago White Sox shortstop Paul DeJong, left, cannot catch Minnesota Twins' Christian Vázquez who steals second base during the seventh inning of a baseball game Monday, April 29, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Minnesota Twins catcher Christian Vázquez, left, and closing pitcher Caleb Thielbar celebrate their team's 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox during the ninth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 29, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Minnesota Twins left fielder Willi Castro, center, and his teammates celebrate their 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox during the ninth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 29, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Minnesota Twins center fielder Byron Buxton, right, slides into home past Chicago White Sox catcher Korey Lee, left, to score on a single by Max Kepler during the ninth inning of a baseball game Monday, April 29, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)