Iran-Backed Militia Dismisses New US Sanctions As ‘Ridiculous’

Zhenyu Wang, 42, and Daniel Ray Lane, 42, were found guilty on Wednesday, and each face a maximum penalty of 45 years in prison. The two men had planned to purchase petroleum from Iran, mask its origins, and then sell it to a refinery in China, the Justice Department said in a statement on Friday.

Lane was president of privately held Stack Royalties, a Texas-based company that sells oil and gas mineral rights to investment funds and private equity groups.

Lane's attorney, Paul Hetznecker, told Reuters in a statement that the case was based on undercover government agents who offered Lane "millions of dollars in profits" if he took part in the scheme, after initially rebuffing their approaches.

"This is an outrageous example of government overreach," Hetznecker said in a statement. He vowed to appeal the conviction.

An attorney for Wang did not respond to a request for comment.

The pair were charged, along with three others, in 2020 in US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Two co-conspirators have since pleaded guilty, court records showed.

"The Justice Department will not tolerate those who would violate US sanctions and imperil our national security for personal profit," said Matt Olsen, head of the Justice Department's National Security Division, in a statement.

China is the world's only major importer of Iranian oil despite sanctions former US President Donald Trump unilaterally reimposed on Tehran's petroleum exports in 2018 after withdrawing the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers. The pair are scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 29, 2024.

An unidentified source, speaking to the Iran-linked Al-Mayadeen network on Saturday, asserted the capability of their forces to target Israeli ships regardless of their location, as reported by the IRGC-affiliated Fars News agency.

The Houthi movement, officially known as Ansarullah, is an Islamist political and armed organization with support from Iran.

The unnamed source also emphasized that Yemen's armed forces aim to target all Israeli ships, whether destined for Israel or not.

Yahya Saree, the spokesperson for the Yemeni militants, and Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the spokesman for Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement, had previously stated separately that they would continue their attacks against Israeli targets until the cessation of attacks on Gaza. Israel has been pounding the enclave to uproot the Islamist group, which has made the war exceedingly bloody hiding deep among the civilian population and underneath the coastal sliver’s non-military facilities. Hamas declared war against Israel on October 7, when it killed about 1,400 mostly civilians and took over 240 hostages to Gaza.

The announcement follows the denial by Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian of responsibility for a drone attack intercepted by the US Navy in the Red Sea on Wednesday. The Pentagon reported that a US Navy warship had shot down a drone originating from Yemen, without specifying the responsible party. The incident occurred after Houthi forces in Yemen, backed by Iran, had earlier vowed to target Israeli ships in the Red Sea. The Houthi attack aligns with calls by Iran's ruler Ali Khamenei, to ban the shipment of oil and food to Israel.

The resolution aligns with existing US sanctions on Iranian airlines, including Mahan Air, Iran Air, Saha Airlines, Qeshm Air, and Qeshm Fars Air. The sanctions are imposed due to their complicity in Iran's role as the primary state sponsor of terrorism.

The US sanctions are based on Iran's export of drones to Russia for planned terrorist attacks against Israeli citizens. Russian military forces also use Iranian Shahad-136 model drones to bombard the Ukrainian infrastructure.

Mahan Air, Iran Air, and Qeshm Air were also involved in shipping fighters and weapons to support the Syrian President Bashar al-Assad during the regime's repression.

Self emphasized the importance of EU and NATO countries applying their own sanctions to prevent the Iranian airlines from operating in their airports. Iranian airlines reportedly operate in at least 24 airports across Eurasia, primarily in NATO and EU nations.

"Our friends in NATO and the EU not only risk exposure to US sanctions but also have a duty to keep their people and airports safe," said Congressman Keith Self. "It's crucial we make our allies aware of this issue and urge them to join the United States in deterring Iranian bad actors."

The resolution has gained widespread support and is endorsed by the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA), the Organization of Iranian American Communities (OIAC), and is supported by United Against a Nuclear Iran Action (UANI Action).

In a TV interview on Friday, the close relative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei stated that “Israel aims to transform the Gaza conflict into a war between Iran and the United States.”

The Expediency Council also warned that if such a scenario unfolds, the primary beneficiary of a secure existence would be the "Zionist regime”, the term used to refer to the Jewish state now at war with Iran-backed Hamas.

The proscribed terror group invaded Israel on October 7 and the US immediately backed the country’s right to defend itself in the wake of an attack which was the single most deadly day for Jews since the Holocaust.

His warning aligns with the recent sentiments expressed by former President Hassan Rouhani, who cautioned against Iran getting entangled in the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. Rouhani highlighted the risk Iran faces due to its role in fueling the conflict and underscored the potential consequences of direct or indirect involvement, stating that “a wrong decision could draw the flames of war towards Iran.”

Former Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also weighed in, stating that if Iran is dragged into the Israel-Gaza war, the consequences would fall on the people, not the state officials.

The conflict has resulted in the most severe escalation in the Gaza Strip since Hamas took control in 2007. Iran's proxies in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and Yemen have become involved, despite Tehran's continued denials of direct involvement.

The United States has strongly supported its ally Israel, mobilizing warships and troops in response to the attack. As a result, the alliance has also since led to US facilities in Syria and Iraq coming under fire from Iran's proxies in dozens of attacks.

The US Treasury on Friday named six people that have been sanctioned because of their affiliation with Kata’ib Hezbollah., which itself has been added to the US terror list. Among those targeted is a member of the IRGC Quds Force, who the administration says facilitates travel and training of Kata’ib Hezbollah fighters in Iran.

"Today’s action sends a message to Kata’ib Hizballah and all other Iran-backed groups that the United States will use all available measures to hold to account any opportunistic actors who seek to exploit the situation in Gaza for their own ends," a Treasury official said.

Iran proxies have been attacking US forces ever since Israel invaded Gaza in retaliation for the October 7 Hamas terror attack.

On Friday, a Pentagon official told Iran International that multiple one-way drones had been launched against US positions in Syria and Iraq, bringing the number of such attacks to 62 in 31 days.

It’s not clear if the newly introduced sanctions can have a meaningful impact on the dynamics on the ground. The regime in Iran and its proxies have been dealing with various forms of sanctions for a long time.

The sanctions will freeze assets of the sanctioned individuals and entities in the US and generally bar Americans from dealing with them. But this will hardly deter the militia if they have little or no material relation or connection with the US.

The Biden administration seems to be reluctant to widen or deepen the conflict. Despite all the tough talk from Biden and his team, the American military has only launched a few airstrikes on IRGC-affiliated positions in Syria and Iraq to deter their daily attacks.

Biden critics say his leniency in dealing with Iran is at least partly to blame for the current situation by emboldening Tehran to advance its regional agenda with relative impunity.

"President Biden’s failure to respond to attacks by Iran and its proxies has put American troops in danger, said Senator Tom Cotton Tuesday. “We have to make Iran once again fear us before more Americans die.”

In the past few weeks, the US has deployed warships and air defense systems to the region, amid concerns that Israel’s onslaught of Gaza could trigger other groups such as Hezbollah in Lebanon to officially enter the scene, putting the whole region ablaze and endangering American troops stationed across the Middle East.

According to Reuters, the US military is taking new measures “to protect its Middle East forces during the ramp-up in attacks by suspected Iran-backed groups” and is leaving open “the possibility of evacuating military families if needed.”

The United States has 900 troops in Syria, and 2,500 more in neighboring Iraq.

On Thursday, Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal introduced legislation that urges Biden to attack Iran in case an American soldier was killed in Syria or Iraq.

“If an American is killed… then the target should be in Iran,” said Senator Graham in the press briefing for the initiative. “They need to pay a price they haven’t paid yet. That price should be the IRGC infrastructure… and the oil refineries.”

Many US lawmakers, including some within Biden’s Democratic Party, have become more critical of the administration due to what they see as letting the Iranian regime off the hook and refilling its coffers.

“Pres. Biden and his team decided early on that, if they were just nice to Iran, Iran would be nicer to us. As a result of that, Iran has been able to earn billions more from oil and got $4.5B in money via the IMF,” said Senator John Kennedy in an interview Friday.

The administration’s decision earlier this week to grant another sanction waiver to enable Iraq to pay Iran for electricity has enraged many lawmakers.

“Make no mistake,” Rep. John James wrote in a post on X, “the money we're allowing Iran to have will go toward killing Americans and Jews, and Biden is allowing it to happen with his ignorance, naivety, and complete lack of understanding of how global politics works. We must hold them accountable.”

The administration says that the Iranian government will not receive in hard currency in cash and can only purchase non-sanctionable goods with the funds that will be kept in Oman. However, critics say that if Tehran can import food and medicine with the funds, it can allocate it own dollars and euros from oil exports to destructive activities.