The United States blacklisted on Wednesday two Iranian business groups, saying they helped boost Iran’s nuclear program and evade US and international sanctions to benefit Tehran’s government and military
The Treasury, working with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said the "Dehghan Network" of Hamed Dehghan and Hadi Dehghan, had procured and supplied "military-grade electronic components" to an Iranian engineering company that works with the military and the Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The Dehghans work through their company Ebtekar Sanat Ilya, and a Hong Kong front company Green Industries (Hong Kong) Limited, the Treasury said.
A second group dubbed the "Shariat Network," controlled by Seyed Hossein Shariat and focused on his Asre Sanat Eshragh Company, was also blacklisted for supplying aluminum alloy products to Iranian entities already sanctioned for their missile proliferation and nuclear weapons programs.
The Treasury also slapped sanctions on individuals connected to the two networks.
The sanctions freeze any property those names have in US jurisdictions and aim to lock those blacklisted out of global commercial and financial networks by banning US individuals and companies, including international companies with US arms, from doing business with them.
The Treasury threatened sanctions against "any foreign financial institution that knowingly facilitates a significant transaction or provides significant financial services for any of the individuals designated today."
The sanctions are part of a US campaign to raise economic pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program.
Washington ditched a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and five other countries, and has ratcheted up sanctions on Tehran, including imposing penalties on Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Zarif says he is unaffected by the sanctions.
