US sanctions Iran-linked firms, individuals allegedly involved in missile, drone procurement networks

By Iclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) – The US on Friday imposed sanctions on four companies based in Iran and Hong Kong for allegedly operating a covert procurement network for Iran’s missile and drone programs.

Separately, the US Department of Treasury on Friday also sanctioned six officials of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Cyber-Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC).

“Iran’s continued proliferation of its advanced conventional weapons, including the UAVs and missiles that target U.S. soldiers, remains a critical threat to the stability of the region,” Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson said in a statement.

“We will not hesitate to leverage our full suite of tools to disrupt the illicit procurement networks that supply the components for these weapons systems, as well as hold accountable those who seek to export these weapons to terrorist proxy groups,” Nelson added.

In a separate statement, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said the IRGC-CEC has been responsible for a series of cyberattacks on critical infrastructure in the US and other countries.

“The United States is taking action against these individuals to respond to these harmful activities and IRGC-affiliated cyber actors’ recent cyber operations targeting programmable logic controllers (PLCs), in which actors used default credentials to display an anti-Israel message on the PLCs’ human-machine interface,” Miller said.

“Cyber operations that intentionally damage or impair the operation of critical infrastructure are destabilizing and potentially escalatory. Today’s action sends a clear message that such actions will not be tolerated,” he added.

The sanctions were imposed following Sunday's drone attack on Tower 22, a remote military installation in Jordan near the Syrian and Iraqi borders, which killed three US troops and injured at least 34 others.

An umbrella group of Iranian-backed militias calling itself the Islamic Resistance in Iraq claimed responsibility.

The US plans to retaliate against the attack on its base in Jordan, with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin saying Thursday that it will be a multi-tiered response and that the US can respond "a number of times."