The US Treasury Department announced additional sanctions against the organizations involved in the production of Iranian drones and their transfer to Russia. (U.S. Sanctions Iran)
According to the department, the sanctions target several companies related to aviation as well as two individuals, Abbas Djuma and Tigran Khristoforovich Srabionov, who facilitated the Russian mercenary Wagner Group’s “acquisition of UAVs from Iran.”
In a statement, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen stated, “As we have demonstrated repeatedly, the United States is determined to sanction people and companies, regardless of where they are located, that support Russia’s unjustified invasion of Ukraine.” (U.S. Sanctions Iran)
“The action taken today exposes and holds accountable businesses and individuals who have made it possible for Russia to use Iranian-built UAVs to brutally attack Ukrainian civilians.” This is essential for our bigger work to upset Russia’s conflict exertion and deny the hardware it needs through authorizations and product controls.”
The US imposed sanctions on a company that provided air transportation for its role in the shipment of Iranian drones to Russia. Since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine at the end of February, these drones have been a significant factor in the conflict. They are able to circle for some time around an area that has been identified as a potential target and only strike once an enemy asset has been identified.
In recent weeks, Russia has carried out a series of drone attacks throughout Ukraine, damaging essential civilian infrastructure and causing fear in Ukrainian cities far from the conflict’s front lines.
Iran’s government acknowledged this month that it had sent a limited number of drones to Russia in the months leading up to Ukraine’s invasion, despite Iranian officials’ persistent denials for months.
“Iran has been accused by some Western nations of contributing to the conflict in Ukraine by providing Russia with drones and missiles. The information about missiles is completely incorrect. According to Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian, who spoke to reporters in Tehran, “the part about drones is correct; we did provide a limited number of drones to Russia in the months before the start of the war in Ukraine.” (U.S. Sanctions Iran)
In addition, earlier this month, officials from a western nation that closely monitors Iran’s weapons program informed the media that Iran is preparing to deliver additional attack drones and surface-to-surface short-range ballistic missiles to Russia for use in its war effort.
