The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on an Iranian national and five companies in Iran, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan for allegedly supplying technology to Iran’s military drone program, the Treasury Department announced.
“Iran continues to pursue the development of asymmetric weapons capabilities, including unmanned aerial vehicles, to carry out attacks on the United States, our servicemembers and our partners and allies in the region,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley.
“We will continue to put America first by disrupting Tehran’s ability to further its destabilizing agenda.”
The sanctions target Javad Alizadeh Hoshyar, the CEO of Iran-based Control Afzar Tabriz Co., along with affiliated companies that the Treasury says procured sensitive manufacturing equipment for the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (HESA).
HESA, a state-owned entity under Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL), produces military aircraft and Ababil-series drones used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Under Hoshyar’s direction, Control Afzar Tabriz Co. allegedly acquired computer numerical control (CNC) machines and routed shipments through foreign intermediaries—including Clifton Trading in Hong Kong, Mecatron and Joemars in Taiwan, and Changzhou Joemars in China—to evade export controls and mask HESA’s involvement, according to the Treasury.
The designations follow another round of sanctions a day earlier against a global shipping and smuggling network allegedly controlled by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani, Iran's former national security chief and an adviser to supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
More than 50 individuals and entities were designated on Wednesday, and over 50 vessels identified, in what the US Treasury called its largest Iran-related action since 2018.
