A drone flies over Kyiv during an attack on Oct. 17, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Sergei Supinsky | Afp | Getty Images
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration on Friday announced a slew of fresh sanctions and extra measures targeting Iran’s aviation and defense sector, as Washington ups the ante in its campaign against Tehran for supplying Moscow with weapons for its war on Ukraine.
The Treasury Department 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 to be used on the battlefield across Ukraine, in response to the Treasury.
The administration also designated Nader Khoon Siavash, director of Iran’s Aerospace Industrial Organization, for his work in overseeing the country’s ballistic missile program. As well as, the Treasury also imposed sanctions on Qods Aviation Industries Chairman 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 shows their desperation within the face of brave Ukrainian resistance and the success of our global coalition in disrupting Russian military supply chains and denying them the inputs they need to switch weapons lost on the battlefield,” wrote Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen in a release.
“America will act swiftly against individuals and entities supporting Iran’s UAV and ballistic missile programs and can stand resolutely in support of the people of Ukraine,” she added.
People walk past cars damaged during Ukraine-Russia conflict within the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 21, 2022.
Alexander Ermochenko | Reuters
In recent months, Moscow has carried out devastating missile and drone strikes against what Ukraine said were civilian targets in addition to critical infrastructure resembling energy facilities. The Kremlin has repeatedly denied that it uses Iranian-made drones in Ukraine and that it targets residential and other high civilian areas.
In a separate statement, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, “Iran has now change into Russia’s top military backer.”
“Iran must stop its support for Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine, and we’ll proceed to make use of every tool at our disposal to disrupt and delay these transfers and impose costs on actors engaged on this activity,” the nation’s top diplomat added.
Following the series of punishing drone strikes, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the 30-member alliance would send drone-jamming equipment to Ukraine.
Kyiv has meanwhile invited United Nations experts to examine what it says are downed Iranian drones in Ukraine.
Some U.N. Security Council members have argued that by providing Russia with drones, Iran has violated a 2015 resolution.
The Security Council resolution, often known as 2231, prohibits the transfer “of all items, materials, equipments and goods and technology” from Iran to a different nation unless it’s approved upfront by the council on a case-by-case basis.
Tehran has rejected this claim.