US blacklists suppliers of Iran’s missile programs
Treasury sanctions two networks it says procured parts for Tehran’s military organizations and facilitated proliferation activities
The US Treasury on Wednesday announced sanctions against two networks tied to the Iranian regime, which it said were aiding Tehran in procuring parts for its military organizations and missile programs.
The Treasury, working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said the “Dehghan Network” of Hamed and Hadi Dehghan, had procured and supplied “military-grade electronic components” to an Iranian engineering company that works with the military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The Dehghans work through their company Ebtekar Sanat Ilya, and a Hong Kong front company Green Industries (Hong Kong) Limited, the Treasury said.
A second group dubbed the “Shariat Network,” controlled by Seyed Hossein Shariat and focused on his Asre Sanat Eshragh Company, was also blacklisted for supplying aluminum alloy products to Iranian entities already sanctioned for their missile proliferation and nuclear weapons programs.
The sanctions freeze any property those names have in US jurisdictions and aim to lock those blacklisted out of global commercial and financial networks by banning US individuals and companies, including international companies with US arms, from doing business with them.
“As the Iranian regime attempts to use complex schemes to hide its efforts to bolster its WMD [weapons of mass destruction] program, the US government will continue to thwart them at every turn,” said Sigal Mandelker, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
“We urge governments worldwide to recognize the extraordinary lengths to which the regime in Tehran will go to conceal its behavior, and to ensure that their companies and financial institutions are not facilitating Iran’s proliferation activities.”
Since withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal last year, the US has sanctioned multiple Iranian individuals and entities it has accused of seeking to evade sanctions and other malign activities.
Washington has engaged in an intensive economic campaign to pressure Iran to radically alter its policies, including developing ballistic missiles, supporting regional terror groups and violating human rights.
The sanctions have hit the Iranian economy hard and have caused its currency to plunge to historic lows.