US Sanctions 18 Individuals and Entities for Supporting Iran’s Missile Program

The US Treasury Department on Tuesday, July 18, added 18 individuals and entities to its sanctions list for supporting ballistic missile activities of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

The announcement of new sanctions comes one day after the Donald Trump administration, while confirming Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA, stated that Tehran is not faithful to the spirit of the nuclear agreement. Washington had threatened that more non-nuclear threats were on the way.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department stated in a press release that it has added 16 individuals and legal entities to its sanctions list for supporting unlawful Iranian actors or transnational criminal activities.

The statement said that in this new list, seven institutions and five individuals have been included for supporting Iran’s military program or the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps. A transnational criminal organization and three related individuals have also been added to the list.

According to the statement, three networks listed in the sanctions have participated in providing equipment needed for Iran’s military sector or the IRGC through supplying drone equipment and other military equipment for the Guards, producing and repairing fast-attack assault boats for the IRGC Navy, or providing electronic components for institutions involved in Iran’s military program.

The US Treasury Department specified: “The transnational criminal organization, two Iranian merchants, and one institution that were added to the sanctions list on Tuesday have stolen American and Western software programs and sold them to Iran.”

Steven Mnuchin, US Treasury Secretary, said on this matter: “The United States government continues to aggressively target Iran’s malicious activities, including state sponsorship of terrorism, ballistic missile program, and human rights violations.”

Referring to Tuesday’s Treasury Department sanctions, he emphasized: “These penalties send a strong message that America cannot and will not tolerate Iran’s provocative and destabilizing behavior. We will continue targeting the Revolutionary Guards and pressuring Iran to stop its ballistic missile program and its malicious activities in the region.”

The US Treasury Department stated in its press release that all assets and property of sanctioned individuals will be frozen and American citizens are prohibited from conducting any transactions with them. Moreover, foreign financial institutions that conduct such transactions, or individuals who provide materials or other assistance to sanctioned institutions and individuals, will face the risk of sanctions or be barred from access to the US financial system and have their assets blocked.

Sanctioned Companies and Individuals

The company “Rayan Reshd Afzar” and three individuals associated with it named Mohsen Parsajem, the company’s CEO, Seyed Reza Qasemi, executive manager, and Farshad Hakemzadeh, the company’s representative, are among the new institutions and individuals on the US sanctions list.

The US Treasury Department says this company and its managers are involved in providing or attempting to provide financial, instrumental, technical, or other support, including services and goods for the Revolutionary Guards, and have been sanctioned for this reason.

“Mac Kandalo Qeshm Shipping Cooperative Company,” headquartered on Qeshm Island, has also been accused of providing financial, instrumental, technical, or other support and providing services or supplying goods to the IRGC Navy and has been added to this list.

“Ramour Group,” headquartered in Turkey and engaged in supplying maritime equipment for Mac Kandalo Qeshm, is also included in this list.

The US Treasury Department has also added Rasit Towan, CEO and sole owner of Ramour Group, to its sanctions list. He was arrested in early June this year for allegedly violating US export control regulations.

The “Agile Software Group,” headquartered in Iran, has also been included in this list and is accused of using hackers to steal engineering software programs from the United States and other Western countries. According to the US Treasury Department, some of these software programs have been sold to Iranian military institutions and government because they were unable to legally access these programs due to US sanctions.

According to the Treasury Department statement, hackers using servers located in several Western countries carry out these thefts.

“Emely Liu,” a Chinese supplier, and four institutions associated with it have been sanctioned by the US for being key supporters of Iran’s military programs. These institutions have been involved in supplying goods needed by the Shiraz Electronics Industries Company, which itself was added to 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 press release: “The United States is deeply concerned about Iran’s malicious activities in the Middle East that have endangered regional stability, security, and progress.”

According to the statement, Iran’s activities have negated any “positive engagement” in regional and international peace and security that was supposed to result from the nuclear agreement.

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

The institutions on this list are: “Organization of Self-Sufficiency Jihad of the Air-Space of the Revolutionary Guards” and “Organization of Self-Sufficiency Jihad and Research of the Revolutionary Guards.”

The US last sanctioned in May of this year, coinciding with the confirmation of Iran’s commitment to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, seven Iranian and Chinese individuals and legal entities for being involved in ballistic missile activities of the Islamic Republic in its sanctions list.

Tehran is accused of repeatedly conducting ballistic missile tests in violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, tests that could be used to carry nuclear warheads.

UN Security Council Resolution 2231, issued after the Vienna nuclear agreement and aimed at confirming it, asked Iran to refrain from developing ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.

Iran, based on this premise, says its missile tests are not in contradiction with the nuclear agreement, and “the tested missiles were not tested with the aim of carrying nuclear warheads.”

Source: Radio Farda