The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on a procurement agent in Iran and his companies and accused them of helping to support Tehran's ballistic missile program following missile attacks by suspected Iran-backed proxies against countries in the region.
It accused the agent Mohammad Ali Hosseini and his network of companies of procuring ballistic missile propellant-related materials for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) unit responsible for research and development of ballistic missiles. Iran's IRGC is subject to U.S. sanctions.
A U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the sanctions were unrelated to efforts to revive the nuclear deal under which Iran had limited its nuclear program to make it harder to develop a nuclear bomb - an ambition it denies - in return for relief from global economic sanctions.
The sanctions freeze any U.S. assets of those targeted and generally bars Americans from dealing with them. Those that engage in certain transactions with them also risk being hit with sanctions, the Treasury said.
The network of companies includes Iran-based Jestar Sanat Delijan and Sina Composite Delijan Co. Also sanctioned was P.B. Sadr Co, which the Treasury accused of acting on behalf of Parchin Chemical Industries, an element of Iran's Defense Industries Organization also under U.S. sanctions.
