In all the attention paid (rightly) to the brave men and women in our armed forces, as well as those of our ally Israel, in taking Iran's military capacity and leadership down, it's easy to lose sight of the other efforts. But the State and Treasury Departments are doing their part, as well. On Tuesday, we learned of another round of sanctions placed on people and entities providing material aid to Iran, specifically, to their missile and drone programs.
On Tuesday, the State Department put out a press release describing who was hit with the sanctions.
Today, the United States is imposing sanctions on eight individuals and four entities that operate multiple procurement networks supporting Iran’s UAV and ballistic missile programs and U.S.-designated Mahan Air. The United States is also identifying two aircraft as blocked property of Mahan Air, which has previously transported Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) operatives, weapons, equipment, and funds.
These designations support Operation Epic Fury and President Trump’s National Security Presidential Memorandum-2 directive to counter Iran’s weapons programs. Today’s action also supports the implementation of United Nations sanctions and restrictive measures on Iran, which were reimposed as a direct result of Iran’s “significant non-performance” of its nuclear commitments.
Not to be outdone by State, the Treasury Department has been busy, as well. Also on Tuesday, the Treasury Department issued a press release describing its actions:
Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is sanctioning 14 individuals, entities, and aircraft based in Iran, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for their involvement in procuring or transporting weapons or weapons components on behalf of the Iranian regime. As the United States continues to deplete Iran’s ballistic missile inventories, the regime is seeking to reconstitute its production capacity. Iran is increasingly relying on Shahed-series one-way attack unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to target the United States and its allies, including energy infrastructure in the region. These designations support Economic Fury in response to the Iranian regime’s continued threats to global security.
“The Iranian regime must be held accountable for its extortion of global energy markets and indiscriminate targeting of civilians with missiles and drones,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “Under President Trump’s leadership, as part of Economic Fury, Treasury will continue to follow the money and target the Iranian regime’s recklessness and those who enable it.”
No pallets of American currency delivered to Tehran by this administration. But the timing here is interesting, and it would be a great question to ask precisely how long this investigation has been going on. Why? Here's why, and I'm going to tell you: These new sanctions come hot on the heels of a couple of Iranian nationals who were trying to organize and provide material aid to Iran, including one who was working on a drone deal.
Read More: New: U.S. Nabs Iranian in Plot to Funnel Military Sonar Tech to Iran
Busted: Iranian Businesswoman Now Accused of $70M Drone Deal for Mullahs
Interesting, no? There's no omertà with these goblins. When busted, as I understand it, the ones who are smart enough to make a deal do so, usually by giving up their co-conspirators. Even the more low-forehead types, the useful idiots, often sing like caged canaries when caught; trouble is, not a lot of them know much. But an Iranian national who has been in the States for some time, running a network? Who knows how much information they may have on other such operations?
There is precisely no hint or information in these releases by State and Treasury that this is the case. Nor would they say so if it were. But... the timing sure is interesting, isn't it?
Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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