Sanctions and embargoes

Cars drive on an unlit street during a blackout in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, Jan 20, 2021. Speculation has gripped social media in Iran that Bitcoin is to blame for a series of recent power blackouts across the country. The government launched a major crackdown on Bitcoin processing centers which use immense amounts of electricity and are a huge burden on the power grid. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Iran, pressured by blackouts and pollution, targets Bitcoin

Jan. 22, 2021 1:04 AM EST

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran's capital and major cities plunged into darkness in recent weeks as rolling outages left millions without electricity for hours. Traffic lights died. Offices went dark. Online classes stopped. With toxic smog blanketing Tehran skies and the country buckling under the pandemic and...

FILE - This Jan. 14, 2021, file photo provided by the North Korean government shows missiles during a military parade marking the ruling party congress, at Kim Il Sung Square in Pyongyang, North Korea. Last year was a disaster for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who helplessly watched his country's economy decay amid pandemic border closures while brooding over the collapse of made-for-TV summits with former President Donald Trump that failed to lift sanctions from his country. Now he must start over with President Joe Biden, who has previously called him a thug and accused Trump of chasing spectacles instead of meaningful reductions of Kim’s nuclear arsenal. Korean language watermark on image as provided by source reads:

After Trump setbacks, Kim Jong Un starts over with Biden

Jan. 22, 2021 12:04 AM EST

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Last year was a disaster for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. He helplessly watched his country's already battered economy decay further amid pandemic border closures while brooding over the collapse of made-for-TV summits with former President Donald Trump that failed to lift...

A large video screen shows a government news report about the inauguration of President Joe Biden at a shopping mall in Beijing, Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. China has expressed hope the Biden administration will improve prospects for people of both countries and give a boost to relations after an especially rocky patch, while getting in a few final digs at former Trump officials. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

China hopes for cooperation, better relations under Biden

Jan. 21, 2021 8:43 AM EST

BEIJING (AP) — China on Thursday expressed hope the Biden administration will improve prospects for people of both countries and give a boost to relations after an especially rocky patch, while getting in a few final digs at former Trump officials. “I think after this very difficult and...

Piles of plush Iranian- made carpets line the floors of a shopping center in northern Iraq, hosting traders from neighbouring Iran, in the city of Dohuk, in the Kurdish-run northern region of Iraq, Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021. At least 24 businesses from 15 Iranian cities offer hope that the spangle of their ornate handicrafts might offer a lifeline out of poverty for Iranians whose country's economy is in tatters amid crippling sanctions. (AP Photo/Rashid Yahya)

Amid crippling sanctions, Iran traders seek lifeline in Iraq

Jan. 21, 2021 1:19 AM EST

DOHUK, Iraq (AP) — Piles of plush carpets line the floors of a northern Iraq shopping center hosting traders from neighboring Iran who hope the spangle of their ornate handicrafts might offer a lifeline out of poverty. In their own country, the economy is in tatters amid crippling U.S. sanctions. ...

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks at the National Press Club in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, Pool)

Pompeo says China's policies on Muslims amount to 'genocide'

Jan. 19, 2021 2:16 PM EST

WASHINGTON (AP) — On his way out the door, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo lashed out anew at China on Tuesday by declaring that its policies on Muslims and ethnic minorities in the western Xinjiang region constitute “crimes against humanity” and a “genocide.” The rarely used...

FILE - In this Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2021 file photo, President Donald Trump gestures as he boards Air Force One upon arrival at Valley International Airport, in Harlingen, Texas. Iran on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, imposed sanctions on President Donald Trump and a number of members of his administration over their alleged role in support of “terrorism,

Iran imposes symbolic sanctions on President Trump

Jan. 19, 2021 12:09 PM EST

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran on Tuesday imposed sanctions on President Donald Trump and a number of members of his administration over their alleged role in support of “terrorism," according to its foreign ministry website. Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh said that besides Trump, sanctions were...

Tugboats get into position on the Russian pipe-laying vessel

Russia: Gas pipeline to Germany at risk after US sanctions

Jan. 19, 2021 11:17 AM EST

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian state gas company Gazprom acknowledged there is a risk that its undersea pipeline to Germany could be suspended or canceled after the U.S. on Tuesday imposing sanctions on a Russian ship involved in its construction. Germany’s Economy Ministry said it had been informed in...

In this photo released on Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021, by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, missiles are launched in a drill in Iran. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard conducted a drill Saturday launching anti-warship ballistic missiles at a simulated target in the Indian Ocean, state television reported, amid heightened tensions over Tehran’s nuclear program and a U.S. pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic. (Iranian Revolutionary Guard/Sepahnews via AP)

Trouble at home may change Biden's hand in Iran nuke talks

Jan. 18, 2021 4:58 PM EST

A lot of the characters are the same for President-elect Joe Biden but the scene is far starker as he reassembles a team of veteran negotiators to get back into the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran. President Donald Trump worked to blow up the multinational deal to contain Iran’s nuclear program during his four...

South Korean President Moon Jae-in speaks during an on-line New Year press conference with local and foreign journalists at the Presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea Monday, Jan. 18, 2021. (Jeon Heon-kyun/Pool Photo via AP)

Moon urges Biden to learn from Trump's N. Korea diplomacy

Jan. 18, 2021 2:35 AM EST

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea’s president on Monday urged the incoming Biden administration to build upon the achievements and learn from the failures of President Donald Trump’s diplomatic engagement with North Korea. A dovish liberal and the son of northern war refugees, Moon Jae-in...

FILE - In this Aug. 26, 2020 file photo, released by the official website of the office of the Iranian Presidency, President Hassan Rouhani, right, welcomes Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi for their meeting in Tehran, Iran. Iran urged the United Nations' nuclear watchdog to avoid publishing “unnecessary” details on Tehran’s nuclear program, state TV reported Sunday, Jan. 17, 2021, a day after Germany, France and Britain said Tehran has “no credible civilian use” for its development of uranium metal. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP, File)

Iran asks watchdog not to publish 'unnecessary' nuke details

Jan. 17, 2021 10:07 AM EST

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran urged the United Nations' nuclear watchdog to avoid publishing “unnecessary” details on Tehran’s nuclear program, state TV reported Sunday, a day after Germany, France and Britain said Tehran has “no credible civilian use” for its development of...

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