The U.S. Treasury Department announced new sanctions Friday aimed at disrupting Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicle, or UAV, program, which has been providing deadly UAVs to Russia for use in attacks against Ukraine.
In a release, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, said it was targeting an Iranian aviation executive and four commercial entities associated with the previously-sanctioned Rayan Roshd Afzar Company that have procured critical parts for the UAV program.
The targeted executive is Iran Aviation Industries Organization (IAIO) Chief Afshin Khajeh Fard, who is based in Tehran.
The department says Khajeh Fard oversees IAIO’s efforts to produce UAVs and missiles, and he has promoted the innovation of Iran’s UAV program and its reduced reliance on foreign suppliers.
Friday's sanctions mean all property and interests in property related to Khajeh Fard or the four companies in or controlled by people in the United States are frozen.
Iran has supplied thousands of Shahed kamikaze drones to Russia throughout its invasion of Ukraine launched in February 2022. They have been used to exhaust Ukrainian air defenses and target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
In the statement, Treasury Undersecretary Brian E. Nelson said, “Treasury will continue to impose costs on those who seek to procure the components Iran needs for its UAV programs and enable the shipment of these weapons to destabilizing actors around the world.”
The European Union on Friday also announced it is targeting Iran’s drone industry.