The United States has imposed fresh sanctions against seven individuals and four businesses from China, Russia, and Turkey.
They are said to be involved in the development of Iran’s drone program.
According to the US, Iran has been giving Russia with drones, which have then been used to kill Ukrainian civilians in the current crisis in Ukraine. One person was reportedly killed in a recent drone strike on the western Ukrainian city of Lviv.
According to Brian E. Nelson, the United States Treasury Department’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, Iran’s spread of its drone program supports Russia and other destabilizing countries in undermining global stability.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is enforcing the sanctions on an Iranian drone firm called Shahin Co, its officials, a group of Russian parts manufacturers, and two Turkish money exchangers named Mehmet Tokdemir and Alaaddin Aykut. Shahin Co had previously been sanctioned in 2008.
These new sanctions follow those imposed by the Treasury in March 2021, which targeted 39 entities suspected of being involved in a shadow banking system.
According to Matthew Miller, a State Department spokeswoman, the United States is committed to continuing to employ all available resources to disrupt these operations.
The United States will also work with friends and partners to hold Iran accountable for its behavior.
Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi, on the other hand, has refuted reports that his country sent drones to Russia for use in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
As a result of these sanctions, the targeted entities will be denied access to any US property or financial assets held in the country.
Additionally, US companies are prohibited from doing business with those identified.
The sanctions aim to curb Iran’s drone manufacturing, which the US and its allies view as a threat to global stability.
Despite the mounting international criticism, Iran maintains a defiant stance on the issue, arguing that the criticism of its drone program is rooted in concerns that it would become a competitor in global arms sales.
