عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Australia Sanctions Iran’s Revolutionary Guards For Threatening Regional Stability

Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles (left) and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong during a meeting in Melbourne (AP)
Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles (left) and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong during a meeting in Melbourne (AP)
TT
TT

Australia Sanctions Iran’s Revolutionary Guards For Threatening Regional Stability

Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles (left) and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong during a meeting in Melbourne (AP)
Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Richard Marles (left) and Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong during a meeting in Melbourne (AP)

The Australian government on Tuesday said it is imposing new targeted sanctions on five Iranian individuals and three entities, in response to Iran’s destabilizing behavior in the Middle East.
Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that the senior officials sanctioned include Iran’s Defense Minister, Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, and the Commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Qods Force, Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, in addition to the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard's contracting arm, Khatam al-Anbiya, Brigadier General Abdol Reza Abed.
The list also includes former defense minister Amir Hatami, managing director of Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries Mehdi Gogerdchian and Major General Gholam Rashid.
“Tuesday’s listings mean the government has now sanctioned 90 Iranian-linked individuals and 100 Iranian-linked entities and are a further demonstration of our commitment to taking strong action against Iran,” the government said.
According to a Foreign Ministry statement, the IRGC is a malignant actor that has long been a threat to international security, and to its own people.
It said the sanctioned include Iranian senior officials, business people and companies that have contributed to the development of Iran’s missile and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) programs.
“Iran’s proliferation and provision of these technologies to its proxies has fostered instability across the region for many years,” the statement added.
Wong pledged that Australia will continue to deliberately and strategically apply pressure on Iran to cease its disruptive activities and adhere to international law.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

UN Shipping Agency Opposes Fees for Any Strait, More Details Sought on Trump Post on Cargo Charge

This picture shows ships sailing near the Strait of Hormuz off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates at Khor Fakkan on July 13, 2026. (AFP)
This picture shows ships sailing near the Strait of Hormuz off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates at Khor Fakkan on July 13, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT

UN Shipping Agency Opposes Fees for Any Strait, More Details Sought on Trump Post on Cargo Charge

This picture shows ships sailing near the Strait of Hormuz off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates at Khor Fakkan on July 13, 2026. (AFP)
This picture shows ships sailing near the Strait of Hormuz off the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates at Khor Fakkan on July 13, 2026. (AFP)

More details are awaited after US President Donald Trump said in a post that Washington was reinstating a naval blockade on Iran and would be reimbursed 20% on ‌all cargo ‌shipped through ‌the ⁠Strait of Hormuz, ⁠the UN's shipping agency said on Monday.

"We are aware of the post and awaiting more details," ⁠a spokesperson with the ‌UN's ‌International Maritime Organization said.

"We have ‌always been consistent ‌on our stance on fees – IMO stands firmly against charging fees for passage ‌through straits used for international navigation. There ⁠is ⁠no legal basis through which to introduce mandatory tolls simply to transit through a strait."

Trump said in a Truth Social post the process would begin immediately, but did not elaborate.

World

US Citizen Is Found Guilty of Helping Export Tech to Iran in Violation of Sanctions

People walk near an anti-US mural in Tehran, Iran, July 13, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People walk near an anti-US mural in Tehran, Iran, July 13, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
TT
TT

US Citizen Is Found Guilty of Helping Export Tech to Iran in Violation of Sanctions

People walk near an anti-US mural in Tehran, Iran, July 13, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters
People walk near an anti-US mural in Tehran, Iran, July 13, 2026. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters

A Massachusetts man was found guilty Monday of conspiring to unlawfully export electronic components to Iran in violation of US sanctions.

Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, who worked at the global electronics company Analog Devices, was accused of helping an Iranian business associate get around American export control laws. US prosecutors say the business associate’s Tehran-based company makes navigation systems for the military drone program of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. Authorities say the scheme included the creation of a front company in Switzerland.

The second defendant, Mohammad Abedininajafabadi, called Abedini in court documents, was not on trial. He is believed to be in Iran after an apparent prisoner exchange for an Italian journalist.

Sadeghi was found guilty on three of the five charges. He showed no visible reaction to the verdict, which came early in the fourth day of jury deliberations. He and his lawyers did not comment as they left court, and he will remain free until sentencing Oct. 13.

Sadeghi, a 43-year-old naturalized US citizen, chose not to testify. A father of two, he lost his job at Analog Devices due to the charges. Although he was arrested in December 2024, long before the current war with Iran, his trial has unfolded during the conflict.

“At its core, this case is straightforward. You cannot send goods, especially the goods at issue in this case, to Iran. Period. Full stop,” Assistant US Attorney Alathea Porter told the jury. “The defendant knew that, and conspired with Mr. Abedini to do that.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared Dolan, in his closing remarks, said documents, text messages and photos proved that the illegal acts were the “fruits of this relationship” between Sadeghi and Abedini.

“The evidence established that he knew what Abedini was doing because he told him in writing,” Dolan said. “He helped him anyway.”

Sadeghi's attorney, William Fick, told jurors that the scheme laid out by the prosecution “makes no sense” and was full of holes. He said Sadeghi was only offering advice to a longtime friend about how to get business with the semiconductor company, and wasn’t responsible for procuring the parts for Abedini.

Fick said there was no proof the parts ended up in Iran, and he disputed that the Swiss company was a front.

“If you look at the world through dirty glasses, everything looks dirty,” Fick said. “That is fundamentally what the prosecution is asking you to do here.”

Fick also said prosecutors hadn't shown Sadeghi gained anything from the alleged plan — although the prosecution pointed out that they didn't need to prove a motive.

“He had nothing to gain and everything to lose,” Fick said. “He has lived in the country for decades. He was a well-regarded, respected employee on his way up in the company.”

Prosecutors had hoped to introduce evidence during the trial related to an Iranian drone used in a 2024 attack that killed three US troops at a remote base in Jordan.

However, before the trial, defense attorneys sought to exclude any evidence related to Abedini’s role in drone manufacturing or attacks on American troops.

The judge agreed, ruling that prosecutors could only give general evidence about Abedini’s Iranian company and how its technology had potential military applications, including for drones. During a hearing in February, prosecutors acknowledged they didn’t have evidence that Sadeghi “knew anything” about the technology he was accused of exporting was allegedly used on the drone involved in the Jordan attack.

Both defendants have been charged with export control violations. Abedini is separately charged with conspiring to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization that resulted in the deaths of three service members.

Abedini was arrested at an airport in Italy on a US warrant in December 2024, but was released a month later and returned to Iran. Three days after his arrest, Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was detained while reporting in Iran. Sala, who was believed held as a bargaining chip for Abedini’s release, returned home in January 2025.

World

US Vows Campaign to End ICC ‘Threat’ to Americans

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a trilateral meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (not pictured) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Ankara on July 7, 2026. (AFP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a trilateral meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (not pictured) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Ankara on July 7, 2026. (AFP)
TT
TT

US Vows Campaign to End ICC ‘Threat’ to Americans

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a trilateral meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (not pictured) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Ankara on July 7, 2026. (AFP)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a trilateral meeting with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun (not pictured) on the sidelines of the NATO Summit in Ankara on July 7, 2026. (AFP)

The United States on Monday announced a campaign against the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC), accusing the tribunal of posing "an intolerable threat to US sovereignty" and threatening sanctions.

"The ICC and its friends are waging a war against our country, not with bullets or missiles, but with statutes, compacts and the force of so-called international law," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a video statement.

The State Department said in a statement the campaign will "systematically disable the ICC's ability to operate, target American servicemen or officials, or otherwise threaten American sovereignty."

Relations between the government of Donald Trump and the ICC have been extremely poor, with several court officials, including its chief prosecutor, already under US sanctions.

The sanctions bar the officials from entering the United States and block property and financial transactions involving them in the world's largest economy.

The measures have often focused on ICC investigations involving Israel, a US ally. The court issued arrest warrants in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others.

However, in its statement, the State Department focused on what it called the ICC's "intolerable threat to US sovereignty," saying the court "claims the authority to prosecute and even imprison American servicemen and officials operating on behalf of America's national interest."

"Americans never signed up for this, and all American presidents since the ICC's ratification have maintained that the ICC does not have jurisdiction over Americans," the State Department said.

The department listed a range of measures it was considering against the court, including having American diplomats call other nations to urge withdrawal from the body, as well as travel bans and sanctions against ICC officials.

Established in 2002, the ICC prosecutes individuals accused of the gravest atrocities, including war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Neither Israel nor the United States is a party to the international treaty that established the ICC. Russia is also not a member, and its President Vladimir Putin has been the subject of an ICC arrest warrant since March 2023.