A drone flies over Kyiv during an attack on October 17, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Sergei Supinsky Afp | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Friday announced a series of new sanctions and additional measures targeting Iran’s aviation and defense sectors, as Washington ups the ante in its campaign against Tehran for providing to Moscow with weapons for its war on Ukraine.
The Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on six executives and board members from Iran’s Qods Aviation Industries, the country’s top defense manufacturer, for producing unmanned aerial vehicles. Tehran has transferred UAVs to Russia for battlefield use across Ukraine, according to the Treasury.
The administration also appointed Nader Khoon Siavash, director of the Aerospace Industrial Organization of Iran, to his job overseeing the country’s ballistic missile program. In addition, the Treasury also imposed sanctions on the Chairman of Qods Aviation Industries 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 like Iran demonstrates 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 inputs they need to replace weapons lost on the battlefield,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen wrote in a statement.
“The United States will act swiftly against individuals and entities that support Iran’s UAV and ballistic missile programs and will stand resolutely in support of the people of Ukraine,” she added.
People walk past cars damaged during the conflict between Ukraine and Russia in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine on April 21, 2022.
In recent months, Moscow has carried out devastating missile and drone attacks against what Ukraine says are civilian targets as well as critical infrastructure such as energy facilities. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied using Iranian-made drones in Ukraine and targeting residential areas and other high civilian areas.
In a separate statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “Iran has now become Russia’s top military supporter.”
“Iran must end its support for Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine, and we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to disrupt and delay these transfers and impose costs on the actors involved in this activity,” added the nation’s top diplomat.
After the series of punishing drone attacks, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the 30-member alliance would send drone-jamming equipment to Ukraine.
Meanwhile Kiev has invited United Nations experts to inspect what it says are Iranian drones stationed in Ukraine.
Some members of the United Nations Security Council argued that by providing Russia with drones, Iran violated a 2015 resolution.
The Security Council resolution, known as 2231, prohibits the transfer of “all goods, materials, equipment and goods and technology” from Iran to another nation unless it is approved in advance by the council on the basis of case by case.
