US Sanctions 20 Companies and Financial Institutions Affiliated with ‘Basij Cooperation Foundation’

The US Treasury Department on Tuesday, October 15, targeted a network of financial institutions and companies affiliated with the ‘Basij Cooperation Foundation’ with new sanctions, which according to the department, provide financial resources to Iran’s paramilitary forces.

These forces are accused of training child soldiers and using them to fight alongside the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

According to the US Treasury Department, this network includes at least 20 companies and financial institutions that operate under the supervision of the ‘Basij Cooperation Foundation.’

Iran Tractor Manufacturing Company and Mobarakeh Steel Industries in Isfahan, Bank Melli, and Mehr Eghtesad Noovin are among these institutions that have been targeted by new US sanctions.

Other institutions and companies include ‘Parsian Bank,’ ‘Mehr Eghtesad Iranians Investment Company,’ ‘Tadbir Aftab Investment Company,’ ‘Royal Sahel Negin Company,’ ‘Mehr Eghtesad Financial Group,’ ‘Tecnatech Engineering Company,’ ‘Tektar Investment Company,’ ‘Iran Tractor Manufacturing Company,’ ‘Iran Zinc Mines Development Company,’ and ‘Bandar Abbas Zinc Production Company.’

The ‘Basij Cooperation Foundation’ is accused of using these companies and institutions to provide cover for its multi-billion dollar trade operations in the automotive, mining, steel, and banking sectors.

The US Treasury Department states that under these sanctions, American citizens are prohibited from conducting trade with this network and their assets will be confiscated.

Steven Mnuchin, US Treasury Secretary, in a statement released for this purpose, said: The sanctioning of these multi-billion dollar financial institutions is because they support Iran’s paramilitary forces.

According to him, Iran’s military organizations have recruited child soldiers and trained them for activity in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps.

Based on the statement from the US Treasury Department, ‘Basij Resistance Force provides religious teachings to students and provides military training to Iranian children and Afghan refugee children, some as young as 12 years old, and sends them to the Syrian front for war.’

Mr. Mnuchin also announced with reference to the sanctioned companies and institutions: ‘This extensive network provides the financial structure for Basij’s efforts in the recruitment, training, and religious education of child soldiers who, under the supervision of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, enter military affairs.’

He added: ‘The international community must understand that trade with the Basij Cooperation Foundation network and the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ shell companies has serious humanitarian consequences. This trade strengthens the regime’s violent ambitions in the Middle East.’

According to Reuters news agency, these sanctions are part of the US economic campaign to pressure Iran due to ‘its aggressive approach in the region and human rights violations.’

Bank Mehr Eghtesad Noovin, formerly known as ‘Mehr Mousasese Gharzolhasane,’ is affiliated with the Cooperation Foundation of the Basij Organization of the Oppressed.

Mehr Eghtesad Iranians Investment Company, affiliated with the Basij Cooperation Foundation, also holds part of the shares of Mobarakeh Steel. This company also purchased shares of Tabriz Tractor Manufacturing in 2008.

Mehr Eghtesad Iranians Company has also purchased shares of several other companies including Iralelco, Sadra, Technotaz, Industrial Development Investment Company, and Jaber Ibn Hayyan Pharmaceutical Company.

Meanwhile, a senior American official stated: Since the United States withdrawal from the JCPOA and the return of sanctions, Iran has witnessed a ‘severe decline’ in oil exports.

Donald Trump’s administration withdrew from Iran’s nuclear agreement with six world powers, known as the ‘JCPOA,’ on April 8 of this year, and in mid-July re-imposed the first round of sanctions against Tehran that had been suspended due to the JCPOA.

The second round of US sanctions, which is aimed primarily at bringing Iran’s oil sales to zero, will be implemented from mid-November.

Source: Radio Farda