US sanctions network accused of transferring billions to Iranian military

Shafaq News/ The United States imposed sanctions on Tuesday targeting approximately 50 entities and individuals accused of transferring billions of dollars to Iran's military, the US Treasury Department announced.

In a statement, the Treasury Department described the sanctioned parties as a "shadow banking" network that has been utilized by Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), both of which are already under US sanctions.

The department indicated that the network has facilitated MODAFL and the IRGC's access to the international financial system, conducting transactions worth billions of dollars since 2020.

The primary sources of funds for the Iranian Ministry of Defense and the IRGC are derived from the sale of oil and petrochemicals.

According to the Treasury, the revenues generated through networks of Iranian exchange houses and foreign front companies have been used to fund and arm Iran's proxies, including the Houthis in Yemen, and to transfer drones to Russia for use in the war in Ukraine.

The Iranian mission to the United Nations in New York has not yet commented on the actions taken by the US Treasury.

The new sanctions target dozens of companies based in Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, the Marshall Islands, as well as entities in Iran and Turkiye.