Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned of potential global economic damage from rising tensions in the Middle East as the Biden administration said it was readying new sanctions in response to Iran's malevolent activity in the region.

Yellen spoke out against Iran's "malign and destabilizing activity" in remarks ahead of this week's spring meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank, saying Iran's weekend missile and drone attack on Israel "underscores the importance of Treasury's work to use our economic tools to counter Iran's malign activity."