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US Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Codify Sanctions on Iran’s Missile Program

US President Joe Biden (C), alongside Vice President Kamala Harris (C-L) and Biden's wife, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden (C-R), hosts members of Congress for a Congressional picnic on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 19 July 2023. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO
US President Joe Biden (C), alongside Vice President Kamala Harris (C-L) and Biden's wife, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden (C-R), hosts members of Congress for a Congressional picnic on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 19 July 2023. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO
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US Senators Introduce Bipartisan Bill to Codify Sanctions on Iran’s Missile Program

US President Joe Biden (C), alongside Vice President Kamala Harris (C-L) and Biden's wife, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden (C-R), hosts members of Congress for a Congressional picnic on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 19 July 2023. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO
US President Joe Biden (C), alongside Vice President Kamala Harris (C-L) and Biden's wife, First Lady Dr. Jill Biden (C-R), hosts members of Congress for a Congressional picnic on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 19 July 2023. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO

US Senator Bob Menendez, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Bill Hagerty have introduced the MISSILES Act, a bipartisan bill to impose US sanctions on Iran’s missile and drone program.

This move came as Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in his address to Congress that Iran “spreads hatred, danger, and terror in the Middle East and publicly calls for the destruction of the State of Israel.”

The looming October 2023 sunset of key UN Security Council restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missiles and drones – including potential transfers to Russia for use against Ukraine – “underscores the need for this urgent legislation,” Menendez and Hagerty said Wednesday.

This bill codifies sanctions on Iran’s missile and drone program under Annex B of UN Security Council Resolution 2231. It ensures that Iran’s destabilizing development and proliferation of ballistic missile technology remains subject to appropriate US sanctions in the likely event that Russia and China block an extension of UN restrictions in the Security Council.

“Iran will not stop developing its missile and drone programs, nor will they stop providing this dangerous technology to its proxies and to Russia’s illegal war against Ukraine,” said Menendez.

“It is absolutely vital that our sanctions policy reflect that reality in the event UN restrictions come to an end in October. The United States must continue to disrupt Iran’s proliferation of missiles and UAVs, as well as its supply to proxies and to Russia.”

Menendez called on US allies and partners “to join us in addressing the threats posed by Iran’s ballistic missile program.”

As for Hagerty, he said: “Iran’s terror-sponsoring regime continues to violate with impunity the UN Security Council’s international prohibitions on the export of missiles, drones, and other destabilizing weapons to foreign actors.”

“This bipartisan legislation imposes far-reaching sanctions against any foreign individual, entity, or government that is engaged in activities related to Iran’s missiles, drones, and other destabilizing weapons—even if the UN Security Council’s international prohibitions are irresponsibly allowed to sunset in October 2023,” he added.

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Germany to Send Soldiers to Fortify Poland Border

A border guard officer stands guard at the Polish-Belarusian border, in Polowce, Poland. (AP file photo)
A border guard officer stands guard at the Polish-Belarusian border, in Polowce, Poland. (AP file photo)
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Germany to Send Soldiers to Fortify Poland Border

A border guard officer stands guard at the Polish-Belarusian border, in Polowce, Poland. (AP file photo)
A border guard officer stands guard at the Polish-Belarusian border, in Polowce, Poland. (AP file photo)

Germany has said it will send a group of soldiers to Poland to help with a project to fortify the country's eastern border as worries mount about the threat from Russia.

Poland, a strong supporter of Ukraine in its fight against Moscow, announced plans in May last year to bolster a long stretch of its border that includes Belarus and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

The main task of the German soldiers in Poland will be "engineering activities," a spokesman for the defense ministry in Berlin said late Friday.

This could include "constructing fortifications, digging trenches, laying barbed wire, or erecting tank barriers," he said.

"The support provided by German soldiers as part of (the operation) is limited to these engineering activities."

The spokesman did not specify the exact number of troops involved, saying only it would be a "mid-range two-digit number".

They are expected to participate in the project from the second quarter of 2026 until the end of 2027.

The spokesman stressed that parliamentary approval was not needed for the deployment as "there is no immediate danger to the soldiers from military conflicts".

Except for certain exceptional cases, the German parliament has to approve the deployment of the country's armed forces overseas.

Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Warsaw has staunchly backed Kyiv and been a transit route for arms being supplied by Ukraine's Western allies.

Warsaw has also modernized its army and hiked defense spending.

Germany is Ukraine's second-biggest supplier of military aid after the United States and has sent Kyiv a huge quantity of equipment ranging from air defence systems to armored vehicles.

World

Erdogan Warns Black Sea Should Not Be 'Area of Confrontation' after Strikes

Turkish President Recep Erdogan addresses the media after the conclusion on the G20 Summit held at the Nasrec Expo Center in Johannesburg, South Africa, 23 November 2025. EPA/HALDEN KROG
Turkish President Recep Erdogan addresses the media after the conclusion on the G20 Summit held at the Nasrec Expo Center in Johannesburg, South Africa, 23 November 2025. EPA/HALDEN KROG
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Erdogan Warns Black Sea Should Not Be 'Area of Confrontation' after Strikes

Turkish President Recep Erdogan addresses the media after the conclusion on the G20 Summit held at the Nasrec Expo Center in Johannesburg, South Africa, 23 November 2025. EPA/HALDEN KROG
Turkish President Recep Erdogan addresses the media after the conclusion on the G20 Summit held at the Nasrec Expo Center in Johannesburg, South Africa, 23 November 2025. EPA/HALDEN KROG

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday warned that the Black Sea should not turn into an "area of confrontation" between Russia and Ukraine, after several strikes in recent weeks. 

"The Black Sea should not be seen as an area of confrontation. This would not benefit Russia or Ukraine. Everyone needs safe navigation in the Black Sea," he was quoted as telling reporters aboard his plane, according to the official Anadolu news agency. 

A Russian air strike damaged a Turkish-owned vessel in a port in Ukraine's Black Sea region of Odesa, Kyiv and the operator said on Friday. 

The attack came hours after Erdogan had raised the issue personally with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a summit in Turkmenistan, said AFP. 

Erdogan had called for a "limited ceasefire" concerning attacks on ports and energy facilities in the Russia-Ukraine war, during the face-to-face talks with Putin, according to his office. 

On the plane, Erdogan said he mainly discussed the war and peace efforts with Putin, Anadolu reported. 

"Like all other actors, Mr Putin knows very well where Türkiye stands on this issue," he said. 

"After this meeting we held with Putin, we hope to have the opportunity to also discuss the peace plan with US President (Donald) Trump," he added. 

"Peace is not far away, we can see it." 

Türkiye, which has sought to maintain relations with Moscow and Kyiv throughout the war, controls the Bosphorus Strait, a key passage for transporting Ukrainian grain and Russian oil towards the Mediterranean. 

Over the past weeks, several attacks also targeted Russia-linked tankers in the Black Sea, some of which were drone attacks claimed by Kyiv. 

The attacks sparked harsh criticism from Ankara, which summoned envoys from both Russia and Ukraine. 

 

World

Indonesia Flood Death Toll Passes 1,000

The deadly torrential rains are one of the worst recent disasters to strike Sumatra. (AFP)
The deadly torrential rains are one of the worst recent disasters to strike Sumatra. (AFP)
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Indonesia Flood Death Toll Passes 1,000

The deadly torrential rains are one of the worst recent disasters to strike Sumatra. (AFP)
The deadly torrential rains are one of the worst recent disasters to strike Sumatra. (AFP)

Devastating floods and landslides have killed 1,003 people in Indonesia, rescuers said Saturday as the Southeast Asian nation grapples with relief efforts.

The disaster, which has hit the northwestern island of Sumatra over the past fortnight, has also injured more than 5,400, the National Disaster Mitigation Agency said in its latest toll.

The deadly torrential rains are one of the worst recent disasters to strike Sumatra, where a tsunami wreaked havoc in 2004 in Aceh province, which lies at the northern tip of the island.

The final toll is expected to rise, with the disaster agency reporting 218 people are still missing.

With vast tracts of territory hit, 1.2 million residents have been forced to take refuge in temporary shelters.

Frustration has grown among flood victims, who have complained about the pace of relief efforts.

President Prabowo Subianto said Saturday the situation has improved, with several areas which had been cut off now accessible.

"Here and there, due to natural and physical conditions, there have been slight delays, but I checked all the evacuation sites: their conditions are good, services for them are adequate, and food supplies are sufficient," Prabowo said after visiting Langkat in North Sumatra province.

Costs to rebuild after the disaster could reach 51.82 trillion rupiah ($3.1 billion) and the Indonesian government has so far shrugged off suggestions that it call for international assistance.