The US Treasury Department announced sanctions on Wednesday against six Hong Kong and mainland China companies it accused of operating as fronts to obtain components for Iranian drones and ballistic missiles in violation of US bans.
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“Iran continues to try to find new ways to procure the key components it needs to bolster its [drone] weapons programme through new front companies and third-country suppliers,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
“Treasury remains committed to disrupting the schemes that enable Iran to send its deadly weapons abroad to its terrorist proxies and other destabilising actors.”
In something of a whack-a-mole exercise, Wednesday’s order follows the US sanctioning earlier this month of two other Hong Kong firms – Duling Technology HK and Advantage Trading Company – affiliated with Iranian firm Pishtazan Kavosh Gostar Boshra (PKGB) and its subsidiary Narin Sepehr Mobin Isatis (NSMI).
When those Hong Kong front companies were blocked, Treasury said, PKGB and NSMI reconfigured their network to route restricted goods through the six other front companies sanctioned on Wednesday.
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The eight companies and their principals are accused of exporting US-origin products and providing financial, material, technological or other support to the Iranian companies. As such, they face the seizure of any property in the US, visa restrictions and unspecified other penalties, while financial institutions doing business with them also risk sanctions.