US Adds 34 Companies to Economic Blacklist over Connections to China, Iran, Russia

The seal of the Department of Commerce is pictured in Washington, D.C., US March 10, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Thayer
The seal of the Department of Commerce is pictured in Washington, D.C., US March 10, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Thayer
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US Adds 34 Companies to Economic Blacklist over Connections to China, Iran, Russia

The seal of the Department of Commerce is pictured in Washington, D.C., US March 10, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Thayer
The seal of the Department of Commerce is pictured in Washington, D.C., US March 10, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Thayer

The Biden administration on Friday added 14 Chinese companies and other entities to its economic blacklist over human rights abuses and high-tech surveillance in Xinjiang.

The Commerce Department said the companies had been "implicated in human rights violations and abuses in the implementation of China’s campaign of repression, mass detention, and high technology surveillance against Uyghurs, Kazakhs, and other members of Muslim minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region."

Reuters first reported the planned additions late Thursday. They include the China Academy of Electronics and Information Technology; Xinjiang Lianhai Chuangzhi Information Technology Co; Shenzhen Cobber Information Technology Co; Xinjiang Sailing Information Technology; Beijing Geling Shentong Information Technology; Shenzhen Hua'antai Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.; and Chengdu Xiwu Security System Alliance Co., Ltd.

The Commerce Department said in total it was adding 34 entities including some from Russia and Iran, and another five entities directly supporting China's military modernization programs related to lasers and battle management system.

“The Department of Commerce remains firmly committed to taking strong, decisive action to target entities that are enabling human rights abuses in Xinjiang or that use US technology to fuel China’s destabilizing military modernization efforts," Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said in a statement.

The list also includes eight entities for facilitating the export of US items to Iran and six entities for involvement in the procurement of US-origin electronic components, likely in furtherance of Russian military programs.

The action follows the department's decision last month to add five other companies and other Chinese entities to the blacklist over allegations of forced labor in the far western region of China.



Israel Arrests 2 Citizens on Suspicion of Working for Iran

 Iranians walk past an anti-Israel billboard bearing a sentence in Farsi reading "Palestine is victorious", at Tehran's Palestine square on January 22, 2025. (AFP)
Iranians walk past an anti-Israel billboard bearing a sentence in Farsi reading "Palestine is victorious", at Tehran's Palestine square on January 22, 2025. (AFP)
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Israel Arrests 2 Citizens on Suspicion of Working for Iran

 Iranians walk past an anti-Israel billboard bearing a sentence in Farsi reading "Palestine is victorious", at Tehran's Palestine square on January 22, 2025. (AFP)
Iranians walk past an anti-Israel billboard bearing a sentence in Farsi reading "Palestine is victorious", at Tehran's Palestine square on January 22, 2025. (AFP)

Israeli authorities say they have arrested two Israeli citizens for allegedly conducting missions on behalf of Iran, the latest in a string of similar cases announced in recent months.

A statement from the Israeli police and the Shin Ben internal security agency on Monday said that Yuri Eliasfov and Georgi Andreev, residents of northern Israel, were in contact with an Iranian agent and carried out various missions under his instruction.

The missions included passing on classified military material obtained during Eliasfov’s military service in an air defense unit. It said the suspects also spray-painted graffiti and hung banners with pro-Iranian messages in various locations across the country, all allegedly in return for financial compensation.

The prosecution is expected to file an indictment against them in the coming days.

In September, an Israeli citizen was indicted for involvement in an Iranian assassination plot against top Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. One month later, authorities arrested another Israeli who was allegedly involved in an Iranian plot to assassinate an Israeli scientist.

The Shin Bet says Iranian agents are known to use social media and promises of cash to try to enlist Israelis to carry out such missions.

Israel and Iran’s long-running shadow war has burst into the open over the past year, with the two countries directly exchanging fire in April and again in October.