Treasury Department sanctions entities involved in Iranian military UAV sales

Treasury sanctions entities involved in Iranian military UAV sales

Treasury Department sanctioning groups involved in Iranian UAV sales
The sanctions impact 12 groups and individuals
United Kingdom and Canada taking similar action

Updated: Apr 25, 2024 / 11:05 AM CDT

FILE – The Treasury Department is seen near sunset in Washington, Jan. 18, 2023. The U.S. on Feb. 14, 2024, imposed sanctions on three people and four firms, across Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey, for allegedly helping to export goods and technology purchased from U.S. companies to Iran and the nation’s central bank. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said the procurement network transferred U.S. technology for use by Iran’s Central Bank in violation of U.S. export restrictions and sanctions. (AP Photo/Jon Elswick, File)

(NewsNation) — The U.S. Treasury Department is sanctioning more than a dozen groups, individuals and vessels involved in the sale of Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the sanctions Thursday, noting that MODAFL is involved in support for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

Sahara Thunder is the main front company that oversees MODAFL’s commercial activities in support of those efforts and plays a key role in Iran’s design, development, manufacture and sale of thousands of UAVs, according to a Treasury Department news release. Many of those UAVs are transferred to Russia for use in Ukraine.

OFAC is also sanctioning two companies and a vessel involved in the shipment of Iranian commodities for Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars, which plays a leading role in Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff’s (AFGS) commercial activities, according to the release.

“Iran’s Ministry of Defense continues to destabilize the region and world with its support to Russia’s war in Ukraine, unprecedented attack on Israel, and proliferation of UAVs and other dangerous military hardware to terrorist proxies,” said Brian Nelson, the Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial Intelligence.

The United Kingdom and Canada are also imposing sanctions targeting several entities and individuals involved in Iran’s UAV procurement and other military-related activities.