A drone flies over Kiev during an attack on October 17, 2022 in the course of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Sergei Supinsky | AFP | Getty’s paintings
WASHINGTON – The Biden administration announced a slew of latest sanctions and extra measures on Friday targeting Iran’s aerospace and defense sectors as Washington raises the stakes in its campaign against Tehran for supplying Moscow with weapons for its war with Ukraine.
The Treasury Department sanctioned six directors and board members of Iran’s Qods Aviation Industries, the country’s largest manufacturer of defense equipment, for producing unmanned aerial vehicles. Based on the Treasury Ministry, Tehran gave the UAV to Russia to be used on the battlefield in Ukraine.
The administration also appointed Nader Khoon Siavash, director of Iran’s Aerospace Industries Organization, for his work in overseeing the country’s ballistic missile program. As well as, the Treasury Ministry imposed sanctions on Qods Aviation Industries Chairman Seyed Hojatollah Ghoreishi, Managing Director Ghassem Damavandian, board members Hamidreza Sharifi-Tehrani, Reza Khaki, Majid Reza Niyazi-Angili and Vali Arlanizadeh.
“The Kremlin’s reliance on suppliers of last resort comparable to Iran shows their desperation in the face of courageous Ukrainian resistance and the success of our global coalition in disrupting Russian military supply chains and denying them the supplies they need to switch weapons lost on the battlefield,” the Treasury Secretary wrote in a press release. Janet Yellen.
“The US will act swiftly against individuals and entities supporting Iran’s UAV and ballistic missile programs and can stand firm in support of the Ukrainian people,” she added.
People walk past cars damaged in the course of the Ukrainian-Russian conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine, April 21, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko | Reuters
In recent months, Moscow has launched devastating missile and drone strikes against civilian targets in addition to critical infrastructure comparable to energy facilities. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied using Iranian drones in Ukraine and targeting residential and other civilian areas.
In a separate statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “Iran has now turn into Russia’s primary military sponsor.”
“Iran must stop supporting Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine, and we’ll proceed to make use of all of the tools at our disposal to disrupt and delay these transfers and impose costs on those involved in these activities,” the country’s top diplomat added.
After a series of punitive drone strikes, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the 30-strong alliance would send drone jamming equipment to Ukraine.
Meanwhile, Kyiv has invited UN experts to research what it believes are downed Iranian drones in Ukraine.
Some members of the UN Security Council argued that by supplying Russia with drones, Iran violated a 2015 resolution.
The Security Council Resolution, often called 2231, prohibits the transfer of “all items, materials, equipment, goods and technology” from Iran to a different country unless approved in advance by the Council on a case-by-case basis.
Tehran rejected this claim.