The Treasury Department on Tuesday slapped sanctions on three groups and two individuals for producing or supplying Iranian drones for use by Russia in Ukraine.
The department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced the sanctions on Shahed Aviation Industries Research Center, Success Aviation Services FZC, and i Jet Global DMCC, as well as individuals Abbas Djuma and Tigran Khristoforovich Srabionov, regarding their involvement coordinating operations between private Russian military company PMC Wagner and Iranian drone production.
"As we have demonstrated repeatedly, the United States is determined to sanction people and companies, no matter where they are located, that support Russia's unjustified invasion of Ukraine," Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in a press release. "Today's action exposes and holds accountable companies and individuals that have enabled Russia's use of Iranian-built UAVs to brutalize Ukrainian civilians.
"This is part of our larger effort to disrupt Russia's war effort and deny the equipment it needs through sanctions and export controls," Yellen added.
Drone production company Shahed Aviation Industries Research Center is located in Iran, while aviation consultants Success Aviation Services FZC and i Jet Global DMCC are both UAE-based.
On Sunday, Yellen initially teased the Treasury would sanction the groups and individuals providing Russia with weapons, according to The Hill.
According to the OFAC, Shahed Aviation Industries Research Center designs and manufactures several Shahed-series unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that Russian forces have used in recent attacks targeting civilian infrastructure in Kyiv, Odesa, and the Kharkiv region of Ukraine.
Success Aviation Services FZC and i Jet Global DMCC allegedly collaborated with U.S.-sanctioned Iranian firm Safiran Airport Services to coordinate flights between Iran and Russia to transport drones.
The OFAC's actions against the UAE-based companies are being taken in cooperation with the UAE government, according to the department.
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