ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - As it prepares to respond to a deadly attack on its forces in Jordan blamed on Iran-backed groups, the United States on Friday slapped more sanctions on a supply network for the Islamic Republic’s missile and drone (unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV) programs.
“Iran’s continued proliferation of its advanced conventional weapons, including the UAVs and missiles that target U.S. soldiers, remains a critical threat to the stability of the region,” said Under Secretary of the Department of the Treasury Brian E. Nelson.
The sanctioned entities include Hong Kong-based companies accused of procuring parts and technology for Iran’s drones and acting as a front for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Another recent round of sanctions targeted entities and individuals based in Lebanon and Turkey who Washington accused of financing the “destabilising activities” IRGC and Lebanon’s Hezbollah.
“We will not hesitate to leverage our full suite of tools to disrupt the illicit procurement networks that supply the components for these weapons systems, as well as hold accountable those who seek to export these weapons to terrorist proxy groups,” Nelson said.
The US has blamed Iraqi militias backed by Iran for a drone strike on Sunday that killed three American soldiers at a base in northeast Jordan. “We believe that the attack in Jordan was planned, resourced and facilitated by an umbrella group called the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which contains multiple groups including Kataib Hezbollah,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Wednesday, a day after Kataib Hezbollah announced it was suspending all its attack on on US troops.
There have been at least 165 attacks on US forces in Iraq and Syria since mid-October, according to the Pentagon. The Islamic Resistance in Iraq has claimed responsibility for most of them, linking it to US support for Israel in its war in Gaza.
Other Iraqi militias - Harakat al-Nujaba and the True Promise Brigades - have both said they will continue their attacks on the US.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Thursday said they are preparing a “multi-tiered” response to the Jordan attack with the goal of degrading the capabilities of the militias, but not sparking a broader conflict.
Washington on Friday also imposed sanctions on six officials in the IRGC’s Cyber-Electronic Command who it accused of carrying out “malicious cyber activities against critical infrastructure in the United States and other countries.”
