President Joe Biden’s administration announced a new round of sanctions on April 18, intended to punish key figures in Iran’s drone programs after those weapons systems were used to strike Israel on April 13.
The Iranian government launched its missile and drone barrage against Israel in response to an April 1 airstrike targeting the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, Syria. The Iranian government concluded that Israeli forces were responsible for the attack, in which Iranian military officers were killed.
Sanctions Target Iranian Drone-Makers
Accompanying President Biden’s statement, the Treasury announced sanctions against 16 Iranian individuals and two entities involved in Iran’s drone programs.Among those facing new U.S. sanctions are six individuals deemed to be involved in testing and supplying attack drones throughout the Middle East on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF). Those individuals are Abbas Sartaji, Mehdi Ghaffari Naghneh, Hasan Arambunezhad, Hadi Jamshidi Zavaraki, Reza Nahar Dani, and Abolfazl Ramazanzadeh Moshkani.
Also sanctioned are Ali Reza Nurian Ramsheh and Mohsen Sayyadi Turanlu, who, along with Mr. Arambunezhad, are executives of the Iran-based Kimia Part Sivan Company, an Iranian drone developer previously sanctioned by the Biden administration in October of 2021. The Treasury Department named another four Kimia employees to be sanctioned: Mohammad Sadegh Fatehi, Hamid Hajji Ebrahimi Forushani, Ali Asghar Al-Taf, and Esma’il Azizkhani.
The Treasury Department also announced sanctions against Mohammad Sadegh Abutalebi and Ali Asghar Abutalebi, both of whom are leaders within Mado Company.
Mado Company is an Iranian firm that produces the Iranian military’s Shahed-131 and Shahed-136 drones. The two drone variants are typically armed with explosives and used as one-way attack drones. Mado Company was also designated for sanctions by the Biden administration in October 2021.
Aseman Pishraneh Co. Ltd is a new Iranian firm designated for U.S. sanctions. According to the Treasury Department, this firm is a contractor that services the engines for various Iranian military drones, including the Shahed-129 and Mohajer-6 drone models.
Ali Habibi Najafi, the managing director at Aseman Pishraneh Co. Ltd, was also designated for new U.S. sanctions on April 18.
The Treasury Department designated a second Iranian company company to be sanctioned on April 18: the Fateh Aseman Sharjf Co. According to the Treasury Department, the company works closely with the IRGC-QF.
Additional Economic Pressure
In addition to the actions specifically targeting Iran’s military drone industry, the Biden administration sanctioned members of Iran’s steel and automotive industries.President Donald Trump’s administration targeted Iran’s Khuzestan Steel Co. with sanctions in January 2020.
The Biden administration’s latest round of sanctions now targets Khuzestan Steel’s business affiliates.
The Treasury Department said one newly sanctioned company, Dubai-based PSI DMCC, has sourced parts of steel production from foreign suppliers on Khuzestan Steel’s behalf and has facilitated the Iranian firm’s steel exports.
Kara Industrial Trading GmbH, a European company facing new sanctions, allegedly bought tens of millions of dollars worth of steel from Khuzestan Steel and provided raw materials for the Iranian company’s continued steel production efforts.
A company called Good Run Limited was also sanctioned after it sold the Khuzestan Steel components needed for its steel production.
The new sanctions also target the Hong Kong-based Magellanic Phoenix Marine and Trading Limited and the Turkey-based HSF Dis Ticaret Limited Sirketi for purchasing Khuzestan Steel’s steel products.
President Biden said he and other members of the G7—Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the European Union—are committed to a collective effort to increase economic pressure on Iran after the April 13 attack on Israel.
“Our allies and partners have or will issue additional sanctions and measures to restrict Iran’s destabilizing military programs,” President Biden said on April 18.
