The Treasury Department made an announcement on Friday, revealing that it has imposed sanctions on a “transnational procurement network” that has been providing support to Iran’s ballistic missile and drone programs.
Sanctions were imposed on four companies located in Iran and Hong Kong for their involvement in providing materials and technology to the programs.
“The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a key procurement network of prolific suppliers of materials and sensitive technology for Iran’s ballistic missile and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) programs, including the Shahed-series UAV produced by Iran’s Shahed Aviation Industries Research Center,” stated the Treasury.
“Iran’s ongoing proliferation of its advanced conventional weapons, such as UAVs and missiles that pose a direct threat to U.S. soldiers, is a significant concern for the stability of the region,” stated Brian Nelson, the Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence. “We won’t hold back in using all our tools to disrupt the networks that supply components for these weapons systems and to hold accountable those who try to export these weapons to terrorist proxy groups.”
In addition, the Treasury has announced sanctions on six officials from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp’s Cyber Electronic Command. These individuals have been targeted for their involvement in malicious cyber activities targeting critical infrastructure in the U.S. and other locations.
Due to the sanctions, any property owned by the designated entities and individuals that is in the U.S. or under U.S. control is now blocked. Typically, individuals or companies from the U.S. are not allowed to engage in transactions involving the property of designated individuals.
In a rather unfortunate turn of events, it has been determined that the drone attack which resulted in the tragic loss of three U.S. service members in Jordan was carried out by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq. This group is known to be an umbrella organization for various militias that receive support from Iran.
Iran issued a strong warning, vowing to respond firmly to any potential U.S. attack on their country, following the U.S. accusation of Tehran’s responsibility. Looks like the U.S. is getting ready to dish out some payback in the Mideast after that drone attack on Sunday. The attack not only caused damage, but also injured over 40 troops at Tower 22, a top-secret base in northeastern Jordan that plays a key role in the American presence in Syria.
