The U.S. Treasury Department has sanctioned individuals and companies allegedly associated with a network of companies linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The department said in a statement Friday that the targets "provided critical support" to Tehran’s drone program. It said they helped spread Iranian drones to "Hezbollah, Hamas, Kata'ib Hizballah, the Houthis, and to Ethiopia."
"Iran’s proliferation of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) across the region threatens international peace and stability," Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said in the statement. "Iran and its proxy militants have used UAVs to attack U.S. forces, our partners, and international shipping."
The Treasury Department said it targeted Iranian nationals Yousef Aboutalebi,
Saeed Aghajani, Abdollah Mehrabi and Mohammed Ebrahim Zargar Tehrani. Two Iranian businesses, Kimia Part Sivan Company LLC and Oje Parvaz Mado Nafar Company, were also sanctioned.
Iran did not immediately comment on the sanctions, which freeze U.S. assets the targets may have and generally bar Americans from doing business with them.
Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse, The Associated Press and Reuters.
