US Issues New Iran-Related Sanctions for Cyber, Arms Activity

 A man uses umbrella as he walks on a sidewalk during snowy weather in northern Tehran, Iran, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. (AP)
A man uses umbrella as he walks on a sidewalk during snowy weather in northern Tehran, Iran, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. (AP)
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US Issues New Iran-Related Sanctions for Cyber, Arms Activity

 A man uses umbrella as he walks on a sidewalk during snowy weather in northern Tehran, Iran, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. (AP)
A man uses umbrella as he walks on a sidewalk during snowy weather in northern Tehran, Iran, Friday, Feb. 2, 2024. (AP)

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions targeting Iran's ballistic missile and drone procurement programs as well as officials it said were involved in hacking US infrastructure, as Washington looks to increase pressure on Tehran.

The US Treasury Department said in a statement on Friday it had imposed sanctions on four Iran- and Hong Kong-based companies involved in providing materials and technology to Iran's ballistic missile and drone programs, as well as a Hong Kong-based firm for selling Iranian commodities to Chinese entities.

The Treasury also said it placed sanctions on six officials of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corp's Cyber Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC) for malicious cyber activities against critical infrastructure in the United States and elsewhere.

Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York and China's embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The sanctions, announced in separate statements, represent Washington's latest efforts to punish Tehran, whose proxies in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and the Gaza Strip have attacked US and Israeli targets.

The United States blamed a weekend attack on a US base on the Syria-Jordan that killed three American soldiers and wounded more than 40 on Iran-backed militants and the Biden administration has promised a response that will include retaliatory strikes.

The weekend attack was the first to kill US troops in the Middle East since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October after a cross-border rampage by Iran-backed Hamas militants that killed about 1,200 people.

The Treasury said it had imposed sanctions the four Iran- and Hong Kong-based entities for operating as covert procurement entities for Iran's Pishtazan Kavosh Gostar Boshra (PKGB) and its managing director Hamed Dehghan, who it said support Iranian military organizations, including the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The Treasury named the three Hong Kong firms it accused of being part of the procurement network for Iran's ballistic missile and drone programs as FY International Trading Co., Limited, Duling Technology HK Limited and Advantage Trading Co., Limited.

Hong Kong-based China Oil and Petroleum Company Limited was also hit with sanctions on Friday, with the Treasury accusing it of being a front company for the IRGC’s Quds Force. The Treasury said it has arranged contracts and sold hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian commodities and was involved in trade with China-based entities to benefit the Quds Force.

Narin Sepehr Mobin Istatis (NSMI), an Iran-based subsidiary of PKGB, was also among those sanctioned in Friday’s action, which freezes any US assets belonging to those targeted and generally bars Americans from dealing with them. Those that engage in certain transactions with them also risk being hit with sanctions.

In a separate statement, the Treasury said it had imposed sanctions on six IRGC-CEC officials: Hamid Reza Lashgarian, Mahdi Lashgarian, Hamid Homayunfal, Milad Mansuri, Mohammad Bagher Shirinkar, and Reza Mohammad Amin Saberian. 



Israeli Military: Missile Fired from Yemen Intercepted

Activists hold up a banner denouncing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel’s actions during the war with Hamas as they demonstrate at the entrance of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. Dutch authorities detained 19 activists who occupied the entrance to court. (AP Photo/Aleks Furtula)
Activists hold up a banner denouncing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel’s actions during the war with Hamas as they demonstrate at the entrance of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. Dutch authorities detained 19 activists who occupied the entrance to court. (AP Photo/Aleks Furtula)
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Israeli Military: Missile Fired from Yemen Intercepted

Activists hold up a banner denouncing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel’s actions during the war with Hamas as they demonstrate at the entrance of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. Dutch authorities detained 19 activists who occupied the entrance to court. (AP Photo/Aleks Furtula)
Activists hold up a banner denouncing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for Israel’s actions during the war with Hamas as they demonstrate at the entrance of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, Monday, Oct. 23, 2023. Dutch authorities detained 19 activists who occupied the entrance to court. (AP Photo/Aleks Furtula)

Air raid sirens sounded across central Israel on Saturday including in Tel Aviv and large bangs were heard after a missile was fired from Yemen and intercepted, the Israeli military said.
Yemen's Houthi militias said later that they fired a ballistic missile at Ben Gurion International Airport near Tel Aviv.
They said the attack was timed to coincide with the arrival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who returned to the country on Saturday after addressing the United Nations General Assembly on Friday.
This marks the second time in less than two days that the Houthis have launched an attack at Israel, following the interception of another missile early on Friday.
The Houthi militia earlier mourned Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah, its ally in an Iran-backed alliance opposing Israel, following his death in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut’s southern suburbs.