Jan. 6 (UPI) — The Biden administration on Friday hit executives and board members of the Iranian company that has built military drones used by Russia in its invasion of Ukraine with sanctions.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said it is targeting six executives and board members of Qods Aviation Industries with the sanctions, calling it a key Iranian defense manufacturer responsible for designing and producing the drones.
The drones have been effective in helping Russia carry out attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure around the country, which has forced many residents to go without electrical power and heat during the winter months as the Russian invasion closes in on one year.
“We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to deny Putin the weapons that he is using to wage his barbaric and unprovoked war on Ukraine,” Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said in a statement.
“The Kremlin’s reliance on suppliers of last resort like Iran shows their desperation in 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 replace weapons lost on the battlefield.”
The assets office said it was also updating QAI’s entry on the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List to include its new alias, Light Airplanes Design and Manufacturing Industries.
It is also designating the director of Iran’s Aerospace Industries Organization, the key organization responsible for overseeing Iran’s ballistic missile programs, for sanctions.
“Today’s action is pursuant to E.O. 13382 and follows our designations in September and November of individuals and entities involved in the production and transfer of Iranian Shahed- and Mohajer-series UAVs, which Moscow continues to use in its brutal attacks against Ukraine, including its critical infrastructure,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
Blinken said Iran has helped Russia fuel its invasion with the use of drones in violation of the U.N. Security Council resolutions.
“Iran has now become Russia’s top military backer,” Blinken said. “Iran must cease its support for Russia’s unprovoked war of aggression in Ukraine, and we will continue to use every tool at our disposal to disrupt and delay these transfers and impose costs on actors engaged in this activity.”
