US Senate Advances Sanctions on Russia and Iran
The US Senate has advanced a sweeping sanctions bill targeting Russia and Iran, named for the late Senator Lindsey Graham, whose funeral was held in Washington on Tuesday. A procedural vote cleared the way for the measure, which has more than sixty co-sponsors, though final passage and the House’s approval remain some way off. President Trump, who eulogised Graham, has backed extending the sanctions to Iran.
The bill would allow the President to impose steep tariffs on the biggest buyers of Russian oil and gas — chiefly China and India — and would target Russian banks, oligarchs and the “shadow fleet” that evades existing measures, while extending sanctions on Iran to 2031. Its progress, hours after Iran resumed attacks on American forces, gives Washington a fresh economic lever against both adversaries. With the House in recess until the end of August, however, the bill is unlikely to reach Mr Trump’s desk before September. Watch the final Senate vote and whether the tariff threat alters Russian or Iranian calculations.