US sanctions 18 individuals and entities for supporting Iran's missile program

On Tuesday, July 17, the US Treasury Department added 18 individuals and other entities to its sanctions list for supporting the Islamic Republic of Iran's ballistic missile activities.

The announcement of the new sanctions comes a day after the Trump administration, while confirming Iran's compliance with the terms of the JCPOA, said Tehran was not living up to the spirit of the nuclear deal. Washington had threatened that more non-nuclear threats were on the way.

The US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control said in a statement that it has placed 16 individuals and entities on its sanctions list for supporting Iranian rogue agents or transnational criminal activities.

The new list includes seven entities and five individuals for supporting Iran's military program or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the statement said. One transnational criminal organization and three associated individuals were also added to the list.

According to the statement, the three networks on the sanctions list have been involved in providing equipment needed by Iran's military or the Revolutionary Guard Corps through the supply of drones and other military equipment to the Revolutionary Guard Corps, the production and repair of fast attack boats for the IRGC Navy, or the provision of electronic components to institutions involved in Iran's military program.

The US Treasury Department has stated that the transnational criminal organization, two Iranian businessmen and an institution that were added to the sanctions list on Tuesday have stolen American and Western software programs and sold them to Iran.

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in this regard: "The United States government continues to aggressively target Iran's malign activity, including its state support for terrorism, ballistic missile program, and human rights abuses."

Referring to the Treasury Department's sanctions on Tuesday, he said, "These sanctions send a strong message that the United States cannot and will not tolerate Iran's provocative and destabilizing behavior. We will continue to target the Revolutionary Guard Corps and pressure Iran to halt its ballistic missile program and malign activities in the region."

The US Treasury Department emphasized in its statement that all assets and property of the sanctioned individuals will be frozen and US citizens are prohibited from doing any business with them. In addition, foreign financial institutions that conduct such transactions, or individuals that provide materials or other assistance to the sanctioned institutions and individuals, will face the risk of sanctions or denial of access to the US financial system and the freezing of their assets.

Sanctioned companies and individuals

The company "Rayan Rushd Afzar" and three people associated with it, namely Mohsen Parsajem, the company's CEO, Seyyed Reza Ghasemi, the head of executive affairs, and Farshad Hakimzadeh, the company's representative, are among the new institutions and individuals on the US sanctions list.

The US Treasury Department says the company and its executives are involved in providing, or attempting to provide, financial, logistical, technical, or other support, including in the form of services and goods, to the Revolutionary Guard Corps and have been sanctioned for that reason.

The "McCondallo Qeshm Shipbuilding Cooperative Company", headquartered on Qeshm Island, is also accused of providing financial, instrumental, technical or other support and performing services or supplying goods to the IRGC Navy and is included in this list.

The "Ramour Group", which is headquartered in Türkiye and operates in the supply of marine equipment for the Qeshm McCandalo Qeshm company, is also on the list.

The US Treasury Department has also placed on its sanctions list Rasit Tavan, the CEO and sole owner of Ramor Group, who was arrested earlier this June on charges of violating US export control regulations.

The Iran-based Ajali Software Group is also on the list, accused of using hackers to steal engineering software programs from the United States and other Western countries. The U.S. Treasury Department says some of the software was sold to Iranian military and government institutions because they were unable to legally access the programs due to U.S. sanctions.

According to a statement from the Treasury Department, the hackers are carrying out these thefts using servers located in several Western countries.

Emily Liu, a Chinese supplier, and four related entities have also been sanctioned by the US for being key supporters of Iran's military programs. These entities were involved in supplying goods to Shiraz Electronic Industries Company, which itself was placed on the US sanctions list on September 17, 2008.

US State Department sanctions

Meanwhile, the US State Department has also sanctioned two Iranian organizations involved in Iran's ballistic missile program.

The US State Department stated in a statement: "The United States is deeply concerned by Iran's malign activities in the Middle East, which threaten regional stability, security, and progress."

According to the statement, Iran's activities have negated any "positive contribution" to regional and international peace and security that was supposed to result from the nuclear deal.

On the US State Department's list, the sanctioned organizations are accused of supporting groups such as Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Hamas movement, as well as the Bashar al-Assad government in Syria and the Houthi rebels in Yemen.

The institutions included in this list include: "The Revolutionary Guards Aerospace Jihad Self-Sufficiency Organization" and "The Revolutionary Guards Self-Sufficiency and Research Organization."

The United States last placed seven Iranian and Chinese individuals and legal entities on its sanctions list in May of this year, simultaneously with its confirmation of Iran's adherence to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, to demonstrate its tough stance towards Tehran, for their involvement in the Islamic Republic's ballistic missile activities.

Tehran is accused of repeatedly testing ballistic missiles that can be used to carry nuclear warheads, despite UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

Security Council Resolution 2231, which was issued after the Vienna nuclear agreement was reached and with the aim of ratifying it, called on Iran to refrain from developing ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Iran relies on this issue to say that its missile tests are not in violation of the nuclear agreement, and that "the missiles tested were not designed to carry nuclear warheads."

Source: Radio Farda