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US sanctions Iranian company over drone shipment to Russia

The Treasury Department also announced sanctions against three companies and one individual involved in drones used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Military drone
A General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle drone performs a fly-over during the Bastille Day military parade in Paris on July 14, 2022. — LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images

The United States on Thursday sanctioned an Iranian company it said was involved in the shipment of Iranian drones to Russia for use in Ukraine. 

In a news release on Thursday, the Treasury Department accused the Tehran-based Safiran Airport Services of coordinating Russian military flights between Iran and Russia, "including those associated with transporting Iranian [drones], personnel and related equipment from Iran to Russia."

The department's Office of Foreign Assets Control also designated three companies and one individual it said were involved in the research, development, production and procurement of Iranian drones for Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its Aerospace Force and Navy.

“Russia is making increasingly desperate choices to continue its unprovoked war against Ukraine, particularly in the face of our unprecedented sanctions and export controls,” Brian Nelson, Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.

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