Tue Sep 10 23:32:22 UTC 2024: ## US and Allies Impose Sanctions on Individuals and Entities Supporting Iran’s Missile Supply to Russia
**WASHINGTON** – In a joint effort to counter Iran’s escalating military support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated ten individuals and six entities based in Iran and Russia. Additionally, four vessels facilitating the transfer of Iranian weapons components and systems to Russia have been identified as blocked property.
The action comes in response to a late 2023 contract between Iran and Russia for the supply of hundreds of missiles. In the summer of 2024, Russian military personnel received training on the use of Iran’s Project 360 CBRMs by Iranian personnel, and the first shipment of these CBRMs arrived in Russia by early September 2024.
“Today, the United States and our allies are taking concerted action in response to Iran’s reckless decision to proliferate ballistic missiles to Russia for use in its war of aggression against Ukraine,” stated Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. “Iran has opted to intensify its involvement in Russia’s illegal war, and the United States, along with our partners, will continue to stand with Ukraine.”
The sanctions target key individuals and entities involved in the weapons transfer, including:
* **Iran Air:** Designated for operating or having operated in the transportation sector of the Russian Federation economy and for materially contributing to the transfer of Iranian weapons systems to Russia.
* **Ruhollah Katebi:** Designated for acting or purporting to act on behalf of Iran’s MODAFL, which has contributed to Russia’s preparations to take receipt of MODAFL’s Fath-360 CRBMs.
* **Ebrahim Bahrami:** Designated for acting or purporting to act on behalf of Shahid Kharrazi Industries, a subordinate organization of Iran’s Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group (SBIG) and a point of contact for the Russian government and the training of Russian military personnel in Iran.
* **Ali Ja’farabadi:** Designated for acting or purporting to act on behalf of the IRGC Air Force, which has overseen satellite launches in Iran.
* **Dzhamaldin Emirmagomedovich Pashaev:** Designated for operating in the defense or related materiel sector of the Russian Federation economy and his enterprises’ involvement in Russian military exports since 2021, including the maritime transport of military goods for the Russian Ministry of Defense.
* **MG-FLOT and its vessels (BORIS KUSTODIEV, PORT OLYA-3, PORT OLYA-4, and KOMPOZITOR RAKHMANINOV):** Identified as blocked property for involvement in the transport of Iranian weapons to Russia.
* **Azadegan Transportation Company and its members (Amad Behineh Saz, Sanjesh Gostar Dana, and Talieh Sabz Jehan):** Designated for being owned or controlled by the IRGC and involved in the logistics operations of the IRGC, including the transportation of lethal aid in the Middle East.
* **Farzanegan Propulsion Systems Design Bureau and its leaders (Hossein Pourfarzaneh, Zahra Pourfarzaneh, and Hassan Pourfarzaneh):** Designated for operating in the defense and related materiel sector of the Russian Federation economy and supplying Russian weapons makers with samples of Farzanegan’s engines in support of Russian cruise missile development.
The sanctions prohibit all transactions with the designated individuals and entities by US persons and within the United States. International partners are also taking concurrent measures, including banning Iran Air from operating in their territories and pursuing further designations of individuals, entities, and vessels involved in the transfer of Iranian lethal aid to Russia.
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