US Sanctions Russian, Chinese, Turkish Entities over Iran’s Drones, Military Aircraft

The US Treasury Department building at dusk in Washington, June 6, 2019. (AP)
The US Treasury Department building at dusk in Washington, June 6, 2019. (AP)
TT

US Sanctions Russian, Chinese, Turkish Entities over Iran’s Drones, Military Aircraft

The US Treasury Department building at dusk in Washington, June 6, 2019. (AP)
The US Treasury Department building at dusk in Washington, June 6, 2019. (AP)

The Biden administration issued fresh Iran-related sanctions on Tuesday, targeting multiple people and entities in Iran, Russia, China and Türkiye in connection with Tehran's drone and military aircraft development.

The sanctions target seven individuals and four entities in the four countries that it said have "facilitated shipments and financial transactions" to the Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company and its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and military aircraft efforts, the US Department of Treasury said in a statement.

“Iran’s continued, deliberate proliferation of its UAVs enables Russia, its proxies in the Middle East, and other destabilizing actors to undermine global stability,” U..Treasury Under Secretary of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement.

“The United States will continue to take action against Iran’s UAV procurement networks, and encourages jurisdictions to exercise the due diligence necessary to prevent the export of these components to Iran,” he added.

Washington had earlier sanctioned five China-based companies and one individual over selling and shipping aerospace components, including parts used for drones, to the Iranian company, according to the Treasury.

US officials had said more sanctions on Iran were expected even as the two nations engaged in a swap this week with five Americans freed from Iran returning to the United States earlier on Tuesday.



Chinese Hackers Reportedly Breached US Court Wiretap Systems

FILE PHOTO: US and Chinese flags are seen in this illustration taken, January 30, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US and Chinese flags are seen in this illustration taken, January 30, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
TT

Chinese Hackers Reportedly Breached US Court Wiretap Systems

FILE PHOTO: US and Chinese flags are seen in this illustration taken, January 30, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: US and Chinese flags are seen in this illustration taken, January 30, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

Chinese hackers accessed the networks of US broadband providers and obtained information from systems that the federal government uses for court-authorized wiretapping, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

Verizon Communications, AT&T and Lumen Technologies are among the telecoms companies whose networks were breached by the recently discovered intrusion, the newspaper said, citing people familiar with the matter.

The hackers might have held access for months to network infrastructure used by the companies to cooperate with court-authorized US requests for communications data, the newspaper said. It said the hackers had also accessed other tranches of internet traffic.

China's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Beijing has in the past denied claims by the US government and others that it has used hackers to break into foreign computer systems.
Verizon Communications, AT&T and Lumen Technologies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Wall Street Journal said the attack was carried out by a Chinese hacking group with the aim of collecting intelligence. US investigators have dubbed it "Salt Typhoon.”
Earlier this year, US law enforcement disrupted a major Chinese hacking group nicknamed "Flax Typhoon," months after confronting Beijing about sweeping cyber espionage under a campaign named "Volt Typhoon."