Washington Tuesday imposed sanctions on companies and people it accused of being involved in the production or transfer of Iranian drones that have been used by Russia in attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
Russia has procured drones from Iran that have been used to attack cities and power infrastructure in Ukraine.
Iran has acknowledged that it had supplied Moscow with drones but said they were sent before the war in Ukraine.
"As we have demonstrated repeatedly, the United States is determined to sanction people and companies, no matter where they are located, that support Russia's unjustified invasion of Ukraine," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in the statement.
"Today's action exposes and holds accountable companies and individuals that have enabled Russia's use of Iranian-built UAVs to brutalize Ukrainian civilians," she said.
The US Treasury Department, in a statement, said it imposed sanctions on the Shahed Aviation Industries Research Center, which it said was subordinate to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force, accusing the firm of being responsible for the design and production of Shahed-series drones being used by Russian forces in Ukraine.
Also designated were United Arab Emirates air transportation firms Success Aviation Services FZC and iJet Global DMCC, which the Treasury accused of collaborating with an Iranian firm under US sanctions to coordinate flights between Iran and Russia, including those tied to transporting Iranian drones.
Treasury said the action against the two companies was taken in cooperation with the government of the United Arab Emirates.
Tuesday's move freezes any US assets of those designated and generally bars Americans from dealing with them.
Reuters report
This ship was transiting from Iran along a route in the Gulf of Oman that has been used to traffic weapons to Yemen's Houthi group, reported Reuters.
Releasing a statement on Tuesday, US Navy's Fifth Fleet said its forces found over 70 tons of ammonium perchlorate on the vessel that is generally used to make rocket and missile fuel, as well as explosives.
“This was a massive amount of explosive material, enough to fuel more than a dozen medium-range ballistic missiles depending on the size,” said Vice Admiral Brad Cooper, commander of US Naval Forces Central Command, US 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces.
A Saudi-led military coalition battling the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen since 2015 has repeatedly accused Tehran of supplying weapons to the group, but the Islamic Republic denies the accusation.
The Islamic Republic has not commented on the accusation yet.
The Fifth Fleet further noted that four Yemeni crew were onboard the vessel which was also carrying 100 tons of urea fertilizer that is used in agriculture but also for making explosives.
US forces sank the ship on Sunday in the Gulf of Oman as it was a "hazard to navigation for commercial shipping" and its crew were handed over to the Yemen coast guard, it added.
Last December, the Fifth Fleet seized a shipment of rifles and ammunitions from a fishing boat. It announced that the cargo is believed to be sent by the Islamic Republic for the Houthis.
