US Issues New Sanctions for Iran’s Missile and Drone Procurement Network

WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) – The State Department announced on Wednesday that the U.S. had imposed new, additional sanctions on parties involved in Iran’s drone and missile programs.

The new sanctions target five individuals and seven entities. They are either Iranian or Chinese, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller explained in a written statement.

The details of the new sanctions suggest that there are close ties between China and Iran in the latter’s defense industry. 

The U.S. Treasury Department explained that those designated for sanctions on Wednesday “procure various components, including accelerometers and gyroscopes, which serve as key inputs to Iran’s ballistic and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program” (UAV is the technical term for a drone.)

“Iran’s acquisition of critical missile and UAV components continues to enable its proliferation of weapons systems to its proxies in the Middle East,” the Treasury statement affirmed.

Iranian Proxy Attacks on U.S. Forces in Iraq and Syria

That includes Tehran’s provision of such weapons to its proxies in Iraq and Syria. Those proxies target bases hosting U.S. troops in an Iranian-backed effort to force the U.S. out of the area. 

Yet as the long-time Kurdish leader, Masoud Barzani, now head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, said last month in a meeting with the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad, it is important that U.S. troops remain in Iraq, describing it as a national issue transcending party lines, essential to the maintenance of Iraq's stability and its pursuit of its national interests.

Read More: KDP President Masoud Barzani meets with US Ambassador to Iraq

Yet Iran has been exploiting the war between Israel and Hamas to mobilize its proxies against the U.S. and its allies. In mid-July, a pro-Iran militia in Iraq launched explosive drones against Ain al-Asad Airbase in Anbar Province. There were no casualties or damage—and there was no U.S. response.

Read More: Iranian-Backed Militia Launches Drone Attack on US Forces in Iraq

So more attacks followed. There were three subsequent assaults, as The Washington Post explained. Last Thursday, two rockets targeted Ain al-Asad Airbase and “another struck on or near a U.S. outpost in Syria.” The next day, on Friday, the base in Syria, Mission Support Site Euphrates, was attacked again.

And, again, there was no U.S. response. However, that changed on Tuesday. At a base in Musayif, south of Baghdad, U.S. forces detected preparations for yet another drone attack.

This time, they preempted, striking those readying the assault. The Iraqi militias said four fighters were killed. Of course, the drones and rockets they use to target U.S. forces come from Iran.

That is one reason for the sanctions announced on Wednesday. Moreover, Iraq is only one theater in which Iranian drones are being used against the U.S. and its allies. There are other theaters in the Middle East where Iranian weapons are used, as well as Ukraine, where Russian forces regularly use Iranian drones. 

Latest Sanctions

Wednesday’s sanctions described the Chinese company, Beijing Shiny Nights Technology Development Company. The Treasury Department called it a “front company” for the Iranian Defense Ministry. 

An Iranian, Sayyed Ali Seraj Hashemi, works with Shiny Nights to procure accelerometers and gyroscopes for Iran’s ballistic missile program, the Treasury Department said.

Hashemi works closely with another Iranian, Saeed Hamidi Javar, who is managing director of an Iranian company, Buy Best Electronic Pars Company.

Both men were named in the new U.S. sanctions, as was Best Buy Electronics. Shiny Nights was sanctioned already in 2023.

But another Chinese company associated with it, Shenzhen Rion Technology, was sanctioned on Wednesday. It “has provided, or attempted to provide, items in support” of Beijing Shiny Nights.

A second Iranian company: Electro Optic Sairan Industries (SAPA), was identified as a major manufacturer in Iran’s drone program. It was sanctioned last year, as It has contributed to the “development of Shahed-series UAVs, which are being used by Russian forces in Ukraine,” the Treasury Department said. 

Mohammad Abdollahi is an Iranian and a business manager for SAPA. He works closely with another businessman in Hong Kong, Thomas Ho Ming Tong “to procure optical components on behalf of SAPA.” 

Both businessmen were sanctioned on Wednesday, as were four other companies, located in China or Hong Kong, associated with Tong. 

Azmoon Pajohan Hesgar is an Iranian company that manufactures test equipment for “the design of sensor and inertial navigation system tests” for missiles.

It was sanctioned on Wednesday, as was its managing director, Ezzatullah Ghasemian Sorbani, the company’s managing director.