The United States has decided to inflict sanctions on 10 entities operating in Russia's naval or marine sectors over, what Washington calls, Moscow's military operations against Ukraine's ports.
"In the wake of Russian naval operations against Ukrainian ports..., the United States today is imposing sanctions on Russian naval entities," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on Thursday.
The US State Department identified the designated entities as those operating or having operated in both the defense and related material sector and the marine sector of the Russian economy.
Trying to confront Russia over its ongoing military operation in neighboring Ukraine, the US has so far slapped sanctions against close to 1,100 Russian entities and more than 1,300 Russian individuals.
Russia launched the operation on February 24 with the aim of defending the pro-Russian population in the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk against persecution by Kiev.
Back in July, Moscow and Kiev reached an agreement, mediated by the United Nations and Turkey, to resume grain exports from Ukraine's Black Sea ports.
In late October, however, Russia withdrew from the deal, with the Kremlin saying that Ukraine, helped by the British navy "specialists," had launched a drone attack near the Russian Black Sea port of Sevastopol.
Also on Thursday, the US Senate lent its blessing to a legislation authorizing the administration of President Joe Biden to seize the American assets of Russian officials, businessmen, and entities and send the proceeds to Ukraine, Russia Today reported.
South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said the move would raise "billions of dollars" for Kiev. The bill will next head to the House of Representatives, where it is expected to be approved by the Democrat-held chamber.
The United States has so far sent about $50 billion in military assistance to the Kiev government.
On Wednesday, as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky arrived in Washington on his first post-war trip, the US announced another $1.85 billion from previously budgeted funds for Ukraine, including for the first time the advanced Patriot air system, which is capable of shooting down cruise missiles and short-range ballistic missiles.
Biden vows long-term military support for Ukraine during meeting with Zelensky
Congress also plans to vote on a spending package that includes about an additional $45 billion in so-called "emergency assistance" to Ukraine.
Moscow has warned that slapping Russia with sanctions and pumping Ukraine full of arms would only prolong the conflict in the ex-Soviet republic.
Mohsen Rezaee, a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, has said preconditions include reparations and security guarantees
For the ongoing conflict between Iran and the US to conclude, the latter must withdraw its military forces from the Persian Gulf, according to a member of the advisory board of Iran’s supreme leader.
Mohsen Rezaee, a retired major general and former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), added that Tehran would also seek full restitution for the damage done and ironclad security guarantees from Washington.
In an interview with Iran’s SNN TV broadcaster published on Saturday, the member of the Expediency Discernment Council said that the “presence of the US in the Persian Gulf has been the main cause of insecurity over the past 50 years.”
“The end of the war is also in our hands,” Rezaee claimed, naming the “US withdrawal from the Persian Gulf” among the key prerequisites. Additionally, Iran expects to receive reparations from the ...
The spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters has accused the United States and Israel of deploying a rebranded copy of Iran’s Shahed-136 drone, designated “Lucas,” to carry out attacks on civilian infrastructure in regional countries as part of a deliberate false-flag operation aimed at framing the Islamic Republic.
In an official statement released today, the spokesman explained that after suffering military setbacks on the battlefield and failing to build political coalitions against Iran, the enemy has resorted to deception.
The statement specifically warned that the objective of these operations is to “create doubt and accuse the Islamic Republic of Iran” while sowing discord between Tehran and its neighbors, thereby undermining the legitimacy of Iran’s defensive actions.
The spokesman pointed to a series of “suspicious attacks” in recent days on facilities in friendly neighboring countries, including Turkey, Kuwait, and Iraq, which Western media outlets and hostile ...
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has announced the execution of the 51st wave of Operation True Promise 4, launching missile strikes against US military installations across the region in retaliation for ongoing American-Israeli aggression against the country.
The IRGC announced the latest wave was carried out using a combination of liquid-fuel and solid-fuel missiles against US terrorist army forces at the Al Kharj Air Base in Saudi Arabia.
According to the IRGC statement, Al Kharj base served as the "origin of aggressions against the Islamic homeland," functioning as the staging ground for US F-35 and F-16 fighter jets involved in attacks on Iran.
The base also houses fuel supply aircraft and serves as the main hub for American AWACS surveillance planes.
Concurrently, the spokesman for the Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters confirmed that the fiftieth wave of the operation struck multiple US terrorist army bases.
They include the Al Dhafra Air Base and Fujairah in the UAE, Jufair in ...
