The United States Department of the Treasury announced this Friday the adoption of a new package of sanctions against eight individuals for their involvement in a fraud scheme aimed at obtaining defense material for Iran.
As detailed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the eight sanctioned individuals, all of Iranian nationality, allegedly impersonated small American companies with the aim of purchasing restricted products from technology firms based in the state of Washington.
"The blatant attempts by the Iranian military to attack and deceive American companies demonstrate how far the regime is willing to go to support its malicious activities," stated Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
The Treasury has thus announced punitive measures against a "key international procurement network" that, according to Washington, supports the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's drone program. The sanctions directly target four companies and three individuals based in Iran, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates, who are accused of illegally triangulating and diverting US-origin engines and electronic components to Tehran's defense sector.
Ali Majd Sepehr and Roudabeh Sarmadi, through the company Sorena Hushmand Samaneh Company, are identified for "obtaining and purchasing" from manufacturers in the United States and other countries "for the benefit" of Sairan Information Exchange Space Security Industries Company, which according to US authorities is under the control of the Revolutionary Guard.
Likewise, five other Iranian citizens, Mohammadali Mansour Darehshiri, Manoochehr Zandian, Hoda Baradaran Bagheri, Farzaneh Rezaei, and Sayyad Payam Akhtarian, have been accused of collaborating with Sepehr in these operations. In parallel, Saied Zahedi, an Iranian residing in Italy, is considered to have used a bank account in the United States to pay for domain registration services created by Sepehr to a company based in US territory.
"The Treasury will continue to use all the powers at its disposal to cut off the Iranian regime's access to the global financial system," Bessent emphasized.
As a result of these measures, all property, assets, and interests of the sanctioned individuals and entities are blocked in the United States. In addition, the authorities have recalled that "any international financial institution or individual that conducts transactions with the sanctioned parties exposes themselves to severe penalties," underscoring that Washington intends to completely dismantle Iran's international military supply chains.