U.S. Treasury issues sanctions against Iranian drone producers
by Simon Druker
Washington DC (UPI) May 31, 2024
The U.S. Department of the Treasury issued financial sanctions Friday against four entities and one individual related to Iran's drone manufacturing program.

The designations against the four entities were made through the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control in response to those entities doing business with and supplying technology to Russian military forces in that country's ongoing war with Ukraine.

Also on Friday, the OFAC sanctioned Afshin Khajeh Fard, a top executive with Iran Aviation Industries Organization, a subsidiary of that country's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, which oversees the production of unmanned aerial vehicles or UAVs.

The European Union has similar sanctions in place against the company.

Treasury officials contend the Fard, as well as the four Iran-based companies are conducting business with the Rayan Roshd Afzar Company, another Iranian firm already under OFAC sanctions.

U.S. officials have previously issued sanctions against other entities for conducting business with the sanctioned Rayan Roshd Afzar Company.

Rayan Roshan Afzar was initially designated in 2017 by the Treasury's OFAC.

"Specifically, RRA has produced technical components for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' UAV program," the Treasury Department said in Friday's statement.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is considered a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. Department of National Intelligence.

Friday's sanctions mean all property and interests in property in or controlled by people in the United States are frozen.

"Today's action reinforces our commitment to disrupt Iran's production and proliferation of deadly UAVs that continue to be used by Russia against Ukraine and by regional terrorist proxies against our troops," Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in the agency's statement.

"Treasury will continue to impose costs on those who seek to procure the components Iran needs for its UAV programs and enable the shipment of these weapons to destabilizing actors around the world."

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