U.S. sanctions 10 people and firms over alleged Iran drone, missile ties

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The U.S. Treasury Department announced Tuesday that it is sanctioning 10 people and firms from Iran and Venezuela, alleging they helped support Iran’s drone trade and its ballistic-missile program. The Treasury action is designed to complement U.N. sanctions on Iran connected to its nuclear program, the department said, and to further limit Iran’s access to the U.S. financial system.

In a statement, Treasury’s Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley said the United States was holding Iran and Venezuela accountable for “aggressive and reckless proliferation of deadly weapons around the world.” Hurley added that the Treasury Department “will continue to take swift action to deprive those who enable Iran’s military-industrial complex access to the U.S. financial system.”

The measures include a Venezuelan firm and its chairman, whom the Treasury Department accused of purchasing Iranian drones. The U.S. Treasury also sanctioned three Iranian men connected to efforts to procure chemicals used in ballistic missiles, according to the announcement described by the Associated Press.

Beyond the individual designations, the sanctions also target a group of Iran-based people and firms linked to Rayan Fan Group, a holding company that the U.S. previously sanctioned. In addition to the new designations, the U.S. said the latest step is part of an effort to further constrain Iran’s capabilities tied to drones, ballistic missiles, and the nuclear program.

Treasury said the sanctions are intended to support the reimposed United Nations sanctions on Iran, which the U.S. described as part of a broader pressure campaign on Iran’s nuclear efforts. The administration has said it is acting to intensify constraints on Iran in ways it argues help address threats to the United States and its allies in the Middle East.

The Associated Press account tied the sanctions to the Trump administration’s reimposition of a “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran. The campaign, the report said, included U.S.-led strikes on three critical Iranian enrichment facilities earlier this summer after a week of open conflict between Israel and Iran, which followed attacks by Israel aimed at Iran’s nuclear and military structure.

This week, the report said Trump warned Iran that the U.S. could carry out further military strikes if Iran attempts to reconstitute its nuclear program. The warning came as Trump held talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida, according to the Associated Press report.

A State Department spokesman, Tommy Pigott, said Iran continues to violate U.N. restrictions. Pigott cited Iran’s “ongoing provision of conventional weapons to Caracas,” characterizing it as a threat to U.S. interests in the region.