The United States government has blacklisted Iran’s military drone procurement network alleging it aids Russia’s war in Ukraine with the unmanned aerial vehicles.
Two Iranians, one Turk, three Tehran-based companies and a fourth in the Turkish city of Izmir were blacklisted by the US Treasury on Tuesday for procuring equipment, including engines from Europe, on behalf of the Middle Eastern country’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics to support its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and weapons program.
“Iran’s well-documented proliferation of UAVs and conventional weapons to its proxies continues to undermine both regional security and global stability,” Brian Nelson, under secretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement. “The United States will continue to expose foreign procurement networks in any jurisdiction that supports Iran’s military industrial complex.”
Neither the Treasury nor the State Department mentioned Russia in connection with Tuesday’s sanctions, but the punitive measure comes less than two weeks after both departments blacklisted a China-based network supplying Iran with parts for drones used by Russia in Ukraine.
The Biden administration assessed that Iran has been supplying the Kremlin with Shahed-131 and 136 armed drones, which have a range of 560 and 930 miles, respectively, since August.
CURRENTPH NEWS SERVICE
