US House Passes Stop Iranian Drones Act

A drone at the Iranian army's annual parade last week (Iranian Presidency)
A drone at the Iranian army's annual parade last week (Iranian Presidency)
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US House Passes Stop Iranian Drones Act

A drone at the Iranian army's annual parade last week (Iranian Presidency)
A drone at the Iranian army's annual parade last week (Iranian Presidency)

The US House of Representatives unanimously passed the Stop Iranian Drones Act (SIDA) to end its drone program and impose sanctions on its supporters.

The bill was approved by 424 votes against two and required approval from the Senate and a presidential signature to become law.

Republicans Tom Massie and Marjorie Greene were against the bill.

The bill promises to punish those who deal with the Iranian regime in the drones' program under the US Sanctions on conventional weapons.

Democratic Representative Ted Deutsch tweeted: "time, and again, Iran has used UAVs to threaten global stability and US interests. Congress countered this destabilizing behavior today and passed the Stop Iranian Drones Act."

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik said the Act would stop Iran or Iranian allies from acquiring combat drones that could be used against US troops or US allies.

Alleging that Iran is "the world's leading exporter of terrorism," Stefanik said the world should know Washington will "use every tool at its disposal to cut off Iran's access to deadly weapons."

The legislators spoke of the importance of approving such a draft as Iran uses the drones to spread panic in the Middle East and attack US forces, Israel, and allies in the region.

They urged the Senate to pass the exact version of the bill quickly ahead of sending it for signing at the White House.

Last December, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Mike McCaul, warned of the danger of drones against the US and its allies in the Middle East.

McCaul said that "these attacks are intolerable" whether Iran launches the attack, the Houthis, Iran-backed militia groups, or other Iran-sponsored entities.

"The people of the Middle East, including Americans living there, cannot live in freedom, stability, or prosperity under assault by Iran's drones," said McCaul.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks pointed out that the "deadly drones in the hands of the world's greatest exporter of terrorism, Iran, jeopardizes the security of the United States and regional peace."

He asserted that the recent Iranian drone attacks on US troops, commercial shipping vessels, regional partners, and the export of drone technology to conflict zones pose a dire threat.

The Democratic representative stressed that the bill sends a strong signal to the international community that it supports the Iranian drone program and will not be tolerated by the US government.

The senators pledged to expedite the bill's approval, which was put forward by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman, Bob Menendez, and its top Republican, Jim Risch, in December.

The lawmakers behind the proposed legislation say it clarifies that US sanctions on Iran's conventional weapons program under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) include the supply, sale, or transfer to or from Iran of drones, which can be used in attacks against the US or its allies.

"Iran's increasing reliance on unmanned aerial vehicles to attack US personnel and assets across the Middle East and shipping vessels, commercial facilities, and regional partners is a serious and growing menace to regional stability," said Menendez.

He warned that Iran's reckless export of this technology to proxies across the region represents a significant threat to human lives.

"We must do more to hold Iran accountable for its destabilizing behavior as we continue to confront the threat of its nuclear program."

Risch said the US must do more to halt "Iran's regional terrorism," as "we saw with recent Iranian-sponsored drone attacks on American troops and the Iraqi Prime Minister, as well as the constant attacks on Saudi Arabia."



US Launches ‘Economic Onslaught’ Against Iran’s Financial Connections

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 24: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announces a new set of sanctions against Iran in the Cash Room at the Treasury Department on August 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP
WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 24: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announces a new set of sanctions against Iran in the Cash Room at the Treasury Department on August 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP
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US Launches ‘Economic Onslaught’ Against Iran’s Financial Connections

WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 24: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announces a new set of sanctions against Iran in the Cash Room at the Treasury Department on August 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP
WASHINGTON, DC - AUGUST 24: US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announces a new set of sanctions against Iran in the Cash Room at the Treasury Department on August 24, 2026 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images/AFP

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled Monday what he described as an "economic D-Day" that aims to give a final warning to countries to sever their business ties with Iran or risk having key companies and entities cut off from the dollar-based financial system.

"We are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around ⁠the globe. Our ⁠objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone," Bessent said.

He added that it’s “no longer acceptable to operate in the gray spaces” of the conflict.

He did not name what countries could face potential secondary sanctions from the United States.

“Let there be no ambiguity as to the position of the United States,” Bessent told a news conference. “An economic engagement of any kind with this murderous regime will expose those responsible to the full reach of American power.”

The US Treasury Department has mapped the networks, facilitators, and financial channels that Iran uses to smuggle oil and evade sanctions and said that Washington would be working with US partners to target any source of Iran's "illicit revenue."

The department said it has issued determinations against five sectors -- digital assets, technology, gold, ⁠aviation and shipping -- that the Iranian government is using to prop up its economy. The Treasury has also imposed sanctions on nearly 60 entities, individuals and vessels.

US President Donald Trump's war with Iran, which has pushed energy prices higher worldwide, is about to hit its six-month mark. While heavy fighting has ‌subsided, diplomatic efforts to end the war have stalled and oil and raw material shipping through the Strait of Hormuz ⁠remains blocked, ⁠keeping energy prices elevated.


Trump Says Iran 'Collapsing' Ahead of Sanctions Announcement

Motorcyclists pass a billboard depicting US President Donald Trump with hands around his neck beneath the words "Revenge is inevitable" in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Motorcyclists pass a billboard depicting US President Donald Trump with hands around his neck beneath the words "Revenge is inevitable" in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
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Trump Says Iran 'Collapsing' Ahead of Sanctions Announcement

Motorcyclists pass a billboard depicting US President Donald Trump with hands around his neck beneath the words "Revenge is inevitable" in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Motorcyclists pass a billboard depicting US President Donald Trump with hands around his neck beneath the words "Revenge is inevitable" in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

President Donald Trump said Monday that Iran is "collapsing" hours before the US government was set to announce details of what it says will be crushing sanctions against Tehran.

"IRAN IS COMPLETELY COLLAPSING!!!" Trump posted in his trademark all-caps style on his social media platform Truth Social.

“President Trump decimated Iran’s economy to a point where the rial has never been weaker and inflation has rarely been higher,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote Sunday in an opinion piece in the Financial Times.

“The regime’s final refuge now lies in the self-deception of fearful nations that still believe accommodating aggression can secure a durable peace.”


Health of Norway's King Deteriorated but he is Stable Now

(FILES) Norway's King Harald gives a speech at the gala dinner at the Castle in Oslo on April 8, 2025 during the state visit of Iceland's President Halla Tomasdottir and her husband Bjorn Skulason. (Photo by Fredrik Varfjell / NTB / AFP)
(FILES) Norway's King Harald gives a speech at the gala dinner at the Castle in Oslo on April 8, 2025 during the state visit of Iceland's President Halla Tomasdottir and her husband Bjorn Skulason. (Photo by Fredrik Varfjell / NTB / AFP)
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Health of Norway's King Deteriorated but he is Stable Now

(FILES) Norway's King Harald gives a speech at the gala dinner at the Castle in Oslo on April 8, 2025 during the state visit of Iceland's President Halla Tomasdottir and her husband Bjorn Skulason. (Photo by Fredrik Varfjell / NTB / AFP)
(FILES) Norway's King Harald gives a speech at the gala dinner at the Castle in Oslo on April 8, 2025 during the state visit of Iceland's President Halla Tomasdottir and her husband Bjorn Skulason. (Photo by Fredrik Varfjell / NTB / AFP)

Crown Prince Haakon visited his father King Harald of Norway on Monday at the hospital, after the king's health deteriorated over the weekend, public broadcaster NRK reported.

The 89-year-old monarch, who has been on sick leave for several weeks, was admitted to the National Hospital a week ago. He is now receiving antibiotics for a bacterial blood infection and has responded to treatment, the royal palace said late Sunday, adding that his condition is stable.

Haakon, has been serving as regent during that time, The Associated Press quoted the palace as saying.

The king has hemolytic anemia and was being treated with cortisone, leading to fluid accumulation in the body that required hospital treatment, the palace said last week.

Norway's prime minister sent his wishes for the king and said that “all of Norway is following and thinking about the king,” NRK reported.

“My strong wish is that he continues to receive good treatment from the good healthcare system we have,” Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said.

Harald, who has been monarch since 1991, has been in and out of the hospital several times in recent years.

In February, he was admitted to a hospital in Spain’s Canary Islands during a winter vacation for treatment for a skin infection.

Two years ago, the king fell ill during a private vacation with the queen in Malaysia and received a temporary pacemaker there. Harald returned aboard a medical airplane to Norway, where he was fitted with a permanent pacemaker.