The United States will sanction thirteen individuals and entities that attempted to purchase and transfer weapons systems on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggot announced in a press statement on Wednesday.
The sanctioned persons and organizations, who reportedly sought to source weapons that included man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS), are based in Iran, Belarus, China, and Hong Kong.
“The United States, as directed in the President’s National Security Presidential Memorandum Two, is committed to disrupting procurement efforts supporting Iran’s military programs. This action represents the commitment to stop Iran from engaging in activities related to the reconstitution of its proliferation-sensitive programs,” the statement says.
A fact sheet released by the department explicitly names and describes four entities and individuals.
First is the Armory Alliance, a Belarus-based organization that acts as a middleman for China and Iran by purchasing large quantities of MANPADS and
Iran’s Center for Innovation and Technological Cooperation also sanctioned
Second is Mohammadmahdi Maleki, a Belarus-based Iranian employed by Armory Alliance, who actively contributed to the organization’s efforts to supply Iran with weaponry.
Third is Iran’s Center for Innovation and Technological Cooperation (CITC), a government entity involved in acquiring satellite imagery and intelligence used to assist Iranian strikes throughout the region. They, too, have reached out to Chinese sources in attempts to procure weapons for the IRGC.
Sajjad Ahadzadeh, the head of the CITC, was also among the people sanctioned by the US State Department after being directly involved in the procurement of MANPADS and other weapons and materials for use by the Iranian government.
US pushes forward with Operation Economic Fury
The sanction designations follow the US implementation of Operation Economic Fury, a Treasury Department initiative to create a chokehold on Iran during the conflict and to sanction entities with connections to the regime in order to degrade Iran’s ability to advance its military objectives.
They are also driving the Iranian regime towards taking clandestine actions via underground banking networks and covert trade routes to circumvent sanctions and their economic consequences.
“Today’s action supports the implementation of United Nations (UN) sanctions and restrictive measures on Iran, reimposed as a direct result of Iran’s ‘significant non-performance’ of its nuclear commitments,” Piggot said.
“UN Security Council resolution 1929 requires UN Member States to prevent the supply, sale, or transfer of conventional weapons such as MANPADS to Iran,” he continued, adding that the US is committed to maintaining maximum pressure on Iran in order to deny the IRGC access to resources to sustain their “destabilizing activities.”
The Treasury Department also pointed out that they are “maintaining maximum pressure on Iran and targeting the regime’s ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds,” having “disrupted tens of billions of dollars worth of revenue.”
