The US Treasury on Wednesday levied sanctions on six entities in Hong Kong and mainland China it said facilitate the acquisition of parts for armed drones produced by Iran, as part of Washington's "maximum pressure" campaign on Tehran.
The entities, the treasury said, acquire parts for US-sanctioned Iranian firm, Pishtazan Kavosh Gostar Boshra, and its subsidiary company Narin Sepehr Mobin Isatis, which it said supplied Iran's drone and ballistic missile programs.
The two Iranian companies were hit by US sanctions last year.
“Iran continues to try to find new ways to procure the key components it needs to bolster its UAV weapons program through new front companies and third-country suppliers,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement on Wednesday, referring to unmanned aerial vehicles.
The US state department said Washington was determined to thwart the program.
"We will continue to act against the complex schemes Iran employs to conceal its acquisition of sensitive technology for its missile and UAV programs," it said in a statement on Wednesday.
"These programs produce missiles and drones that Iran uses against our allies and exports to its terror proxy groups and Russia."
The newly sanctioned entities helped procure millions of dollars worth of Western-origin technology for Iran's drone program.
Western powers accuse Iran of providing drones and missiles to Russia for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Russia launched 267 attack drones overnight on Saturday, marking the largest single assault since the use of Iranian-made projectiles began.
Iranian drones have repeatedly been deployed in attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure and other civilian targets. The Shahed 136 drone is typically launched alongside cruise and ballistic missile attacks to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses.
