The United States on Friday issued new sanctions targeting suppliers of Iranian drones that Washington said Russia used to target civilian infrastructure in Ukraine during the conflict.
Russia has been targeting sensitive infrastructure in Ukraine since October with a barrage of missiles and drones, causing many power outages as the cold intensifies.
The US Treasury Department said in a statement that it imposed sanctions on six executives and members of the board of directors of Al-Quds Aerospace Industries, also known as Light Aircraft Design and Manufacturing Industries.
The Treasury described Al-Quds, which itself has been under US sanctions since 2013, as a major Iranian defense manufacturer responsible for the design and production of the drones.
“We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to deny Putin the weapons he is using to wage his brutal and senseless war on Ukraine,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in the statement.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York and the Russian embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment.
Iran has acknowledged sending the drones to Russia, but says it sent them before the start of the Russian invasion in February. Moscow denied that its forces used Iranian drones in Ukraine.
Friday’s sanctions reflect US concerns about military cooperation between Iran and Russia and Russia’s use of Iranian drones to strike Ukraine, a threat that could become more powerful if Tehran provides missiles to Moscow to boost its supplies.
sanctions
The ministry said that Sayed Hajjajullah Quraish, chairman of the board of directors of Al-Quds Company and a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Defense, who “led Iran’s military research and development efforts and was responsible for negotiating Iran’s agreement with Russia to provide (Moscow with) Iranian drones for its war in Ukraine, was targeted on Friday.” “.
The ministry also sanctioned Qassem Damavandian, a Quds managing director and board member, saying he likely facilitated the supply of drones to Iranian military hardware and the training of Russian soldiers in the use of Quds-manufactured drones.
The sanctions included four others who were members of the board of directors of Al-Quds Company, namely Hamid Reza Sharifi Tehrani, Reza Khaki, Reza Niazi Anjeli and Wali Arlanizadeh.
The sanctions also targeted the director of Iran’s Air and Space Industries Corporation, which the ministry says is a key institution responsible for overseeing Iran’s ballistic missile programme.
The measure, taken on Friday, freezes any US assets of those named and generally bars Americans from doing business with them. Those who engage in certain transactions with them risk exposing themselves to penalties as well.
The United States had previously imposed sanctions on companies and people it accused of producing or transporting Iranian drones that Russia used to attack civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.