US Secretary of State Antony Blinken pointed out Wednesday that "Israel" would support the United States rejoining the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and this move would meet American national interests.

In a Senate hearing, Blinken indicated that "[US partners in "Israel"] would support our rejoining UNESCO and I think it's in the national interest to do that, precisely because these debates [around norms and standards] are so important, and we should be at the table, making sure that we shape them, not someone else."

Under former US President Donald Trump's administration - who accused the organization of harboring “anti-Israel bias”- Washington officially withdrew from the UNESCO in 2019.

US to continue sanctions against Russia in weeks

The United States will continue imposing sanctions on Russia in the weeks ahead in response to its special military operation in Ukraine, Blinken confirmed on Wednesday. 
 
"We will continue to roll out sanctions in the weeks ahead. This is not stopping as long as Russia is not stopping [in Ukraine]," he said.

A couple of days ago, the United States added 40 Russian entities and 29 individuals to the Office of Foreign Assets Control's (OFAC) list of sanctioned nationals, the Treasury Department announced in an update of the list.

The new sanctions target individuals, including the head of Russia's central bank Kseniya Yudayeva and Otkritie FC Bank chief Mikhail Zadornov, as well as other individuals connected to Russia's financial institutions, according to the Treasury Department update.