Department of State

Iran blamed Israel and the United States on Wednesday for twin bomb blasts that killed at least 95 people in the country's south, ripping through a crowd commemorating Revolutionary Guards general Qasem Soleimani four years after his death in a U.S. strike.

The U.S. government on Wednesday announced what it said was the last remaining package of weapons available for Ukraine under existing authorization, with Congress now needing to decide whether to keep supporting Kiev's battle against Russian invasion.

The United Nations named an outgoing Dutch minister its humanitarian coordinator for Gaza on Tuesday following last week's watered-down Security Council resolution which called for aid to be delivered to the strip "at scale."

Manatos & Manatos, which for decades has been part of the Greek American community's presence in Washington, is celebrating its 40th anniversary.

A well established lobbying firm in the US Capitol, Manatos & Manatos marked the occasion on December 13 with an event which drew many of Washington's most influential individuals, from both political parties and over decades.

According to officials in Seoul and Tokyo, North Korea launched another long-range ballistic missile on Monday with the potential to strike the United States, continuing a record-breaking number of weapons tests this year that the West has denounced.

The US Department of State has approved a possible sale to Greece of 35 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters "and related equipment," it announced Friday. The estimated cost is $1.95 billion.

"If (Russian President Vladimir) Putin wins in Ukraine, he stands on NATO's doorstep. And as I said the other day, if you think the cost of supporting Ukraine is high now, think about how much it will be not only in money, but in American blood if we have to start acting on our Article Five obligations," White House National Security Adviser John Kirby said at a press briefing.

Washington has expressed its support for Greece-Turkey talks, following a meeting on Thursday in Athens between Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The US welcomes the upcoming meeting of the Greece-Turkey High Cooperation Council to be held this week in Athens, the State Department said. 

Henry Kissinger, the former US secretary of state who passed away on Thursday, took with him the secrets that pursued him like ghosts, making him steer clear of the Cyprus issue. Based on personal experiences linked to an obsession with the events of 1974, I can attest that this historic episode greatly perturbed him. In reality, Greece and Cyprus became victims of his cynical realism.