The U.S. last week expanded an Iran-related sanctions authority to target the country’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors and designated a host of entities and vessels that it said have shipped or traded Iranian oil products.

President Joe Biden this week renewed a national emergency authorizing certain sanctions related to Syria, the White House said. The situation in Syria "undermines the campaign to defeat the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" and threatens civilians, peace and security in the region, the White House said. The emergency for Syria was renewed for one year from Oct. 14.

The Council of the European Union this week agreed on a $38 billion financial aid package to Ukraine that would be repaid from Russian assets frozen by the Group of 7 countries and the EU.

The U.K. on Oct. 8 sanctioned one person and three entities with ties to chemical weapons, including Igor Anatolyevich Kirillov, head of the radiological chemical and biological defense troops in Russia, which is involved in transferring chemical weapons for use in the war in Ukraine. The agency also sanctioned the 33rd Scientific Research and Testing Institute, Radiological Chemical and Biological Defence Troops of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation and the Russian Ministry of Defence 27th Scientific Centre.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Algoney Hamdan Daglo Musa, the procurement director of the Rapid Support Forces, a Sudanese militant group warring with the Sudanese Armed Forces. OFAC said he leads RSF efforts to procure weapons and other military items, prolonging a war that has killed thousands of people, displaced millions and has led to “emergency levels of hunger” within Sudan. “The United States will continue to hold accountable those who seek to prolong this conflict and restrict access to vital humanitarian assistance at a time of famine and fragility,” said Brad Smith, the Treasury Department’s acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

The U.K. on Oct. 8 corrected four entries listed in its cyber sanctions regime. The changes correct name spellings and a date of birth for Eduard Benderskiy, Aleksey Shchetinin, Dmitriy Slobodskoy and Maksim Yakubets, who were sanctioned for their ties to Russian crybercrime group Evil Corp.

A new EU sanctions framework against Russia will allow the bloc to designate people and entities involved in undermining foreign elections and democratic institutions, the sabotage of economic activities, disinformation and manipulation, "malicious" cyber activities and more. The Council of the EU said it established the new framework Oct. 8, allowing the EU to sanction those undermining the "fundamental values of the EU and its member states, their security, independence and integrity, as well as those of international organisations and third countries." The framework was based on a proposal by Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign affairs and security policy chief, to respond to the "continued campaign of hybrid activities by Russia," the council said.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned three people and a “sham charity” that it said are international financial supporters of the terror group Hamas. It also designated a “longstanding” Hamas supporter and nine of his businesses for their ties to the group. OFAC said they each “play critical roles in external fundraising” for Hamas, often by disguising their support as charity.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control may be preparing to increase its use of private blocking notices, which the agency sometimes sends to companies instead of publicly sanctioning a party on its Specially Designated Nationals List, Paul Weiss said in an October client alert.

The U.K. Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation on Oct. 3 added CJSC Alfa Bank Belarus to its Belarus sanctions regime. OFSI said the bank carries out business in the country's financial services sector, which is a "sector of strategic significance to the Government of Belarus."