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.
The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps’ (IRGC) Intelligence Unit says Iran will consider the Israeli regime’s shelters “legitimate targets” if residential areas in the country come under attack.
In a post published on social media platform X on Tuesday, the IRGC said that any strikes on residential areas in Iran would give Iran’s armed forces the right to attack Israeli shelters in the occupied lands.
The IRGC stated that it has intelligence on the blueprints and the exact locations of these shelters.
Iran began its Operation True Promise 4 after the US and Israel launched their joint military aggression against the Islamic Republic in late February by assassinating Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei, and several senior Iranian officials.
In its latest wave of attacks, the IRGC said it rained down missiles on the Israeli regime’s “secure” intelligence facilities in Tel Aviv.
Iranian armed forces have also pounded American military bases and ...
In a fresh wave of retaliatory strikes, the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) targeted the Israeli regime’s “secure” intelligence facilities in Tel Aviv.
The IRGC’s Public Relations Department said in a statement on Tuesday that it had carried out the 79th wave of its ongoing retaliatory Operation True Promise 4 against the Israeli and American targets.
Deploying powerful Kheybar Shekan, Emad, and Sejjil missiles alongside IRGC Aerospace Force kamikaze drones, the operation successfully breached the regime's multi-layered air defense systems, the statement said.
The missiles, it stated, targeted Israel’s intelligence facilities in northern and central Tel Aviv, as well as military commercial and support centers in Ramat Gan and the Negev.
The missiles also hit Israel’s southern military logistics and command headquarters in Beersheba.
The missile strikes triggered widespread panic across Israel and forced the suspension of a Knesset (parliament) session on Tuesday.
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The Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) announces staging the 78th wave of its underway retaliatory Operation True Promise 4, targeting such highly sensitive Israeli targets as Dimona, Tel Aviv, and Eilat as well as several US military bases in the region.
In a statement on Tuesday, the IRGC described the latest phase of the operation as a significant development featuring missiles raining down on enemy targets as the nation was leveling momentous support behind the Islamic Republic by attending millions-strong rallies with "clenched fists."
'A distinct record'
The latest phase, it noted, "has set a distinct record in the timeline of the war."
According to the statement, targets in the occupied port of Eilat, Dimona, a heavily fortified city that hosts the Israeli regime's notorious nuclear reactor in its vicinity, and northern Tel Aviv were struck using Emad and multi-warhead Qadr missile systems along with attack drones.
This was the second time the Corps was hitting Dimona, ...
