The United States imposed sanctions on eight Iranian executives' of Paravar Pars Company (Paravar Pars), an Iran-based firm for manufacturing Shahed-series unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Force (IRGC ASF).
This US measure follows other decisions announced by the US Treasury on November 15, 2022, September 8, 2022, and January 6, 2023, against individuals and entities associated with the Iranian drone program.
US State Secretary Antony Blinken said Russia had used Iranian UAVs against Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure, warning that Tehran's continued supply to Russia violated UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which prohibits Iran's military UAVs to Russia without advance, case-by-case approval of the UN Security Council.
"The United States will continue to use every tool at our disposal to disrupt and delay these transfers and impose costs on actors engaged in this activity," he said.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) stated that Iranian entities continue to produce UAVs for Iran's IRGC and military, adding that Tehran is supplying UAVs for Russia's combat operations to target critical infrastructure in Ukraine.
"The United States will continue to aggressively target all elements of Iran's UAV program."
OFAC explained that Paravar Pars has manufactured and tested UAVs for the IRGC ASF and IRGC Navy. The firm specifically played a role in the research, development, and production of the Shahed-171 UAV.
The sanctions targeted Hossein Shamsabadi, Paravar Pars' Managing Director, CEO, and a member of the firm's Board of Directors, Ali Reza Tangsiri, the Chairman of the Board for Paravar Pars and commander of IRGC Navy, Abulfazl Nazeri, Mohsen Asadi, Mohammed Sadegh Mousa, Abulfazl Salehnejad, and Mohammed Mohammadi.
The list included forward base ship IRIS MAKRAN and naval frigate IRIS DENA.
