U.S. imposes sanctions on network producing Iranian Shahed drones

The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on a key procurement network of major suppliers of materials and sensitive technologies for Iranian ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programs, including drones like the Shahed series.

Four organizations based in Iran and Hong Kong, acting as clandestine procurement networks, were designated today.

Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson stated that Iran's continued spread of its advanced conventional weapons, including drones and missiles aimed at U.S. soldiers, remains a serious threat to regional stability.

"We will not hesitate to leverage our full suite of tools to disrupt the illicit procurement networks that supply the components for these weapons systems, as well as hold accountable those who seek to export these weapons to terrorist proxy groups," he added.

Who exactly fell under the sanctions

The Ministry of Finance clarified that the restrictions were imposed on:

• FYIT from Hong Kong,
• Duling Technology from Hong Kong,
• Advantage Trading from Hong Kong,
• NSMI from Iran,
• and COPC from Hong Kong.

Iran's assistance to Russia with weaponry

Iran has been supporting Russia's invasion since its early months, providing military assistance. Notably, Tehran supplied Moscow with kamikaze drones used by occupiers to attack Ukraine since the fall of 2022.

Recently, Sky News reported that Iran developed a new explosive drone, Shahed-107, for Russia, which Moscow could use against Ukraine.

Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson Yurii Ihnat has noted that this new weapon Russia receives could pose a challenge to Ukraine. However, there is currently no information on Iran transferring new drones and missiles to the Russian military.