US imposes new drone and cybersecurity sanctions on Iran

Actions are latest in series of measures Washington has taken in response to Iran-linked attacks on personnel in Middle East

Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles on display during a ceremony in Tehran. EPA / Iranian Ministry of Defence

The US on Friday announced a new tranche of sanctions against Iran's drone and ballistic missiles programmes following recent attacks by Tehran-backed groups on American personnel in the Middle East.

“Iran’s continued proliferation of its advanced conventional weapons, including the UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] and missiles that target US soldiers, remains a critical threat to the stability of the region,” said Brian E Nelson, undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence.

Mr Nelson travelled to the UAE this week, where he discussed the two countries' partnership in countering terrorist financing networks.

He also highlighted the importance of maintaining co-ordination to jointly combat threats to stability in the region, including the proliferation of drones, the Treasury Department said.

The visit came days after Mr Nelson met Iraqi officials in Baghdad after the US sanctioned Al-Huda Bank for serving as a conduit for funding Iran-backed terrorist activity.

The drone-related sanctions take aim at four Iran- and Hong Kong-based companies for providing materials to Iran's ballistic missile and drone programmes. An additional Hong Kong-based company was sanctioned for selling Iranian commodities to benefit the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In a separate move, the Treasury Department announced sanctions against six IRGC officials accused of conducting cyber attacks in the US and elsewhere.

The department said the incidents had minimal impact in the US, although it said it was still “deeply concerned about the targeting of these systems”.

Friday's actions follow previous measures by the US in recent months in response to attacks by Iran-linked groups against US forces in the Middle East amid the Israel-Gaza war.