The U.S. government has announced the imposition of sanctions against Iranian entities for the delivery of drones to Russia and Tehran’s «support» for the «unprovoked war» launched in February by Moscow against Ukraine.
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, has indicated that the drones delivered by Iran «are being used by Moscow to attack civilian infrastructure and cities» and has highlighted that among those sanctioned are «manufacturers» and those responsible for the delivery of these devices.
Thus, he indicated that among those sanctioned is the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Aerospace Force, which he said «probably helped facilitate the supply of military drones by Iran to Russia», according to a statement released by the State Department.
«Qods Aviation Industries, which produces the Mohajer-6, is also designated,» said Blinken, who detailed that the third entity affected is «Shahed Aviation Industries Research Center, which produces variants of the Shahed drone.»
In this regard, he revealed that the latter company produces among others the Shahed-136 drone, «used by Russian forces in their recent attacks against Kiev, Odessa and the Kharkov region». The European Union (EU) and the United Kingdom announced sanctions against the company in October.
Moreover, Blinken has announced the designation of the Wagner Group, owned by an oligarch close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, for «operating in the defense and related material sector of the Russian Federation’s economy.»
In doing so, he recalled that the Wagner Group was already a target of previous sanctions and added that «earlier this year it attempted to purchase Iranian drones, almost certainly to support its operations in Ukraine, which is an example of how it is used by the Kremlin as a low-cost, low-risk tool to advance its objectives.»
The Treasury Department has also announced sanctions against two individuals identified as Abbas Djuma and Tigran Kristoforovich Srabionov for «being involved in the Wagner Group’s procurement of Iranian drones to support its combat operations in Ukraine.»
The sanctions further affect Success Aviation and United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Jet Global DMCC for their role «in the transfer of Iranian drones to Russia for use in Ukraine.» «actions against targets in the UAE are taken in cooperation with the Emirati government,» the State Department has specified.
«The Iranian government’s military support for Russia fuels the conflict in Ukraine and its delivery of drones is a clear violation of UN Security Council Resolution 2231,» it denounced, before stressing that «the United States will continue to work to disrupt and defer these transfers and impose costs against actors engaged in this activity.»
