Rahmatollah Heidari has been subjected to secondary sanctions on Iran for its alleged link to Baharestan Kish Company, which operates in the technology sector and was also added to the sanctions list on Thursday, OFAC said in a press release.
Design and Manufacturing of Aero-Engine Company as well as Paravar Pars Company have been sanctioned for their alleged links to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, according to the release. At the same time, Safiran Airport Services has been added to the secondary sanctions list for its alleged link to Russia, the release said.
The US Treasury has not explained why the restrictions were introduced.
In 2015, the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Russia, the United States, France and Iran signed a nuclear deal, called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which involved lifting sanctions from Tehran in exchange for limiting its nuclear program.
In May 2018, the US, under then-President Donald Trump, withdrew from the JCPOA and reinstated sanctions against Tehran. In response, Iran announced a phased reduction in its obligations under the agreement, abandoning restrictions on nuclear research, the number of centrifuges and the level of uranium enrichment.
Negotiations on the restoration of the JCPOA have been going on since the spring of 2021; several rounds have passed at this time. In early August 2022, the coordinator from the European Union distributed the "final text" of a draft agreement on the deal. On August 22, Tehran sent the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, its response to the proposed draft, and also expressed its opinion on "remaining issues" in the negotiations.
The EU called Iran's response to the nuclear deal proposal constructive and said it was consulting with the United States on further steps. On August 24, the Iranian side received a US comment on the draft and sent a response to Washington in early September, calling it "constructive."