US Sanctions Global Network Supporting Iran Shahed Drone Program

The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on five companies and one individual across Iran, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan for supporting Iran’s military drone program by procuring sensitive technology for the Iranian Aviation Manufacturing Company (HESA), a state-owned defense firm linked to Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics. These sanctions align with President Trump's National Security Presidential Memorandum-2, aiming to disrupt Iran's development of asymmetric weapons, including unmanned aerial vehicles used for attacks against the U.S. and its allies, as well as in support of Russia's war efforts in Ukraine. Among the designated are Control Afzar Tabriz Co. Ltd. and its CEO Javad Alizadeh Hoshyar, accused of coordinating the procurement of CNC machine tools vital for drone manufacturing, and intermediary firms such as Hong Kong-based Clifton Trading Limited and Taiwanese suppliers Mecatron Machinery Co. Ltd. and Joemars Machinery and Electric Industrial Co. Ltd. The sanctions freeze all U.S.-based assets of the designated entities and individuals and prohibit U.S. persons and companies from engaging in transactions with them without authorization. This action is part of a broader U.S. strategy under Executive Order 13382 to target proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, aiming to curb Iran's destabilizing military capabilities in the region and beyond.