New Iran sanctions are unveiled by Washington

The US has announced another round of sanctions on Iran, targeting an alleged "procurement network" for drones and ballistic missiles, as Washington continues to accuse Tehran of supplying weapons to Russian forces in Ukraine. The targeted entities include the Iran-based Defense Technology and Science Research Center, as well as a number of related firms. Turkish citizen Murat Bukey was also included on the sanctions blacklist, accused of facilitating the transfer of a "variety of goods with defense applications" to Iran. In a televised address on Tuesday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declared that the US is seeking to "to change the very nature of the Islamic Republic" through sanctions and other forms of interference. Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan'ani later said the US was "intensifying the cruel sanctions against the Iranian nation" in a social media post.