US sanctions 32 individuals and entities linked to Iran’s missile and drone programmes

The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on individuals and entities across several countries for allegedly supporting Iran’s ballistic missile and drone development programmes, marking Washington’s latest move to tighten pressure on Tehran.

According to a statement from the US Treasury Department, 32 individuals and entities based in Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, China, Hong Kong, India, Germany, and Ukraine have been targeted. The designated groups are accused of operating procurement networks that assist Iran’s weapons manufacturing efforts.

“These networks pose a threat to US and allied personnel in the West Asia and to commercial shipping in the Red Sea,” the department said.

The US along with its European partners and Israel, has long accused Tehran of using its nuclear programme as a cover to develop weapons capabilities,  a charge Iran denies, insisting that its activities are solely for peaceful purposes.

This action is also in furtherance of President Trump’s National Security Presidential Memorandum-2 to counter Iran’s aggressive development of missiles and other asymmetric and conventional weapons capabilities and deny the IRGC access to assets and resources that sustain their destabilising activities, the US Department of State said in a statement.

The United States will continue to use all available means, including sanctions on entities based in third countries, to expose, disrupt, and counter Iran’s procurement of equipment and items for its ballistic missile and UAV programs, which jeopardize regional security and international stability, it said.

With inputs from agencies