The US Treasury announced the imposition of economic penalties against two "networks" allegedly linked to Iran and helping it evade the American sanctions regime and boost the country's missile programme.
"As the Iranian regime attempts to use complex schemes to hide its efforts to bolster its [Weapons of Mass Destruction] programme, the US government will continue to thwart them at every turn", Treasury Under Secretary Sigal Mandelker said.
One of the now sanctioned networks, led by Hamed Dehghan, has allegedly been used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to procure US technologies and electronic components for the country's missile programme. The network allegedly acquired over one million dollars-worth of military-grade electronic components for Iran. The Treasury claims they were acquired through the Hong Kong-based front company Green Industries Ltd.
The second network, led by Seyed Hossein Shariat, had allegedly ordered various aluminium alloy products for Iran’s Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics.
The Treasury indicated that the new sanctions are aimed at freezing the designated companies' and persons' assets on US territory and in the possession of US citizens, as well as the imposition of a ban on operations with these entities.
Washington has been imposing sanctions against Iran since it withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in May 2018, vowing to exercise a campaign of "maximum pressure" against the Islamic Republic until it stops its alleged "malign activities" in the region and agrees to negotiate a new accord that would limit both its nuclear and missile programmes. Tehran has refused to hold talks while being under pressure from the US.