U.S. sanctions major Russian bank over Iran ties.
Today's events
VTB Bank sanctions.
State sanctioned VTB Bank, one of Russia's largest lenders, for opening offices in Iran, building ties to blacklisted Iranian banks and working to move billions of dollars in Iranian assets.1Sep 14 · StateQuad logistics drill.
Australia, India, Japan and the United States ran a tabletop exercise in Tokyo on September 3–4, drafting standard operating procedures for a shared Indo-Pacific network to move disaster relief.2Sep 14 · StateNuclear expansion pledge.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright told the International Atomic Energy Agency's general conference in Vienna that five small modular reactors have reached criticality under a U.S. pilot, backing a 300-gigawatt target for 2050.3Sep 14 · DOEInfant formula settlement.
Abbott will pay $384,999,040 to settle claims it billed federal and state programs for powder infant formula made under leaking roofs and cracked spray dryers at its Sturgis, Michigan, plant.4Sep 14 · DOJCisco email flaw.
CISA added a SQL-injection vulnerability in Cisco's Secure Email Gateway to its actively-exploited catalog, obliging federal civilian agencies to remediate it on publicly exposed systems.5Sep 14 · CISAChina tin duties.
Commerce preliminarily found Chinese tin mill steel — the material in food cans — subsidized, and declared critical circumstances covering two Shougang units, letting duties reach imports entered before the finding.6Sep 15 · CommerceCarrier drone contract.
The Navy awarded Boeing $562 million for the first three production MQ-25A Stingray refueling drones, the first carrier-based unmanned aircraft to reach production; deliveries begin in 2029.7Sep 14 · NavyAerospace parts pipeline.
Andrei Samuilovski, a Russian, Estonian and Swiss citizen, pleaded guilty in Washington to routing nearly $2 million of export-controlled U.S. aerospace parts to Russia through a firm founded weeks after the 2022 invasion.8Sep 14 · DOJVietnam health handover.
State signed a five-year, $98.75 million agreement transferring Vietnam's HIV and tuberculosis programs to Vietnamese ownership — the 35th such deal in a $24.7 billion global-health restructuring.9Sep 14 · State
Allied Governments
Bab el-Mandeb call.
Japan's foreign minister told Yemen's counterpart that Houthi attacks threaten free navigation of the Red Sea, and said he had again called on Iran to urge the Houthis to show restraint.aSep 14 · Japan MoFAOil stockpile release.
Japan's foreign minister and the International Energy Agency's executive director reviewed the agency's largest-ever coordinated release of oil stocks and the resilience of critical-mineral supply chains.bSep 14 · Japan MoFASlovenia and Ukraine.
NATO's secretary general cited €60 million of Slovenian security assistance to Ukraine in 2025 and called a Russian strike on a Ukrainian passenger train a sign of Moscow's desperation.cSep 14 · NATO
Voices
“The United States remains steadfast in cutting off the financial lifelines that allow the Iranian regime to fund terrorism, destabilize the region, and threaten U.S. economic security.”
U.S. Dept. of State, press statement · Sep 141
“These actions advance President Trump's bold goal of adding 300 gigawatts of new nuclear capacity in the United States by 2050.”
Energy Sec. Chris Wright, IAEA General Conference, Vienna · Sep 143
“Today's settlement is a victory for American families and makes clear the safety of our children is not negotiable.”
Acting Deputy Attorney General Trent McCotter · Sep 144
“This [tabletop exercise] reaffirmed the Quad's unwavering commitment to strengthen practical cooperation to address regional challenges and to ensure a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Joint statement of Australia, India, Japan and the United States · Sep 142
“This type of vulnerability is a frequent attack vector for malicious cyber actors and poses significant risks to the federal enterprise.”
CISA, Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog · Sep 145
“MQ-25A will deliver the advanced reach, lethality, and survivability our warfighters need to outpace evolving threats and dominate the future battlespace.”
Capt. Daniel Fucito, Unmanned Carrier Aviation program manager · Sep 147
Sources
- U.S. Dept. of State, “U.S. Sanctions VTB Bank for Aiding Iran's Sanctions Evasion,” Sept. 14, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/sanctions-vtb-bank-iran-evasion
- U.S. Dept. of State, “Joint Statement on the Quad Tabletop Exercise in Tokyo to Advance Indo-Pacific Logistics Network,” Sept. 14, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/quad-tabletop-exercise-tokyo
- U.S. Dept. of Energy, “U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright Delivers U.S. National Statement at the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, Austria,” Sept. 14, 2026. energy.gov/articles/…/us-national-statement-iaea-general-conference
- U.S. Dept. of Justice, “Abbott Agrees to Pay Over $384M to Settle Allegations Related to Contaminated Infant Formula,” Sept. 14, 2026. justice.gov/opa/pr/…/abbott-contaminated-infant-formula
- CISA, “CISA Adds One Known Exploited Vulnerability to Catalog” (CVE-2026-76461, Cisco Secure Email Gateway), Sept. 14, 2026. cisa.gov/news-events/alerts/…/kev-cve-2026-76461
- U.S. Dept. of Commerce, “Tin Mill Products From the People's Republic of China: Preliminary Affirmative Countervailing Duty Determination, Preliminary Affirmative Critical Circumstances Determination,” Sept. 15, 2026. federalregister.gov/documents/…/tin-mill-products-china-preliminary-cvd
- U.S. Navy, “First Production Contract Awarded for MQ-25A Stingray,” Sept. 14, 2026. navy.mil/Press-Office/…/first-production-contract-mq-25a-stingray
- U.S. Dept. of Justice, “Russian National Pleads Guilty to Smuggling U.S. Aerospace Goods to Russia,” Sept. 14, 2026. justice.gov/opa/pr/…/russian-national-aerospace-goods-smuggling
- U.S. Dept. of State, “New U.S Health Partnership with Vietnam Under the Trump Administration's America First Global Health Strategy,” Sept. 14, 2026. state.gov/releases/…/health-partnership-vietnam
- Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Japan-Yemen Foreign Ministers' Telephone Call,” Sept. 14, 2026. mofa.go.jp/press/release/…/japan-yemen-foreign-ministers-call
- Japan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “Foreign Minister MOTEGI's Meeting with IEA Executive Director Fatih BIROL,” Sept. 14, 2026. mofa.go.jp/press/release/…/motegi-meeting-iea-birol
- NATO, “Secretary General praises Slovenia's contributions to NATO and its support to Ukraine,” Sept. 14, 2026. nato.int/en/news-and-events/…/secretary-general-slovenia-ukraine