The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has targeted 10 individuals and entities based in Venezuela and Iran, including a Venezuelan company that has contributed to Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) trade with Venezuela.
“Treasury is holding Iran and Venezuela accountable for their aggressive and reckless proliferation of deadly weapons around the world,” said Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John Hurley. “We will continue to take swift action to deprive those who enable Iran’s military-industrial complex access to the U.S. financial system.”
Iran’s UAV and missile programs threaten U.S. and allied personnel in the Middle East and destabilize commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Additionally, Iran’s ongoing provision of conventional weapons to Caracas constitutes a threat to U.S. interests in the Western Hemisphere, including the Homeland, and the United States will use all available measures to prevent this trade.
This action is being taken in furtherance of National Security Presidential Memorandum 2, which directs the U.S. government to curtail Iran’s ballistic missile program, counter Iran’s development of other asymmetric and conventional weapons capabilities, deny Iran a nuclear weapon, and deny the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) access to assets and resources that sustain their destabilizing activities.
OFAC is taking this action pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13382, which targets weapons of mass destruction (WMD) proliferators and their supporters, and E.O. 13949, which targets property of certain persons with respect to the conventional arms activities of Iran.
OFAC has designated Venezuela-based Empresa Aeronautica Nacional SA and its chair, Jose Jesus Urdaneta Gonzalez, which have acquired Iranian‑designed UAVs.
OFAC has also designated three Iran-based persons in connection with efforts to procure chemicals used for ballistic missiles for Parchin Chemical Industries, an element of Iran’s Defense Industries Organization. The sanctioned individuals include Rostami Sani, Pardisan Rezvan Shargh, and Zarepour Taraghi.
OFAC has further designated two entities and three individuals based in Iran for their connection to Rayan Fan Kav Andish Co, a U.S.-designated holding company for a variety of firms that operate in the field of high-technology systems.
The United States will continue to take action to curtail Iran’s ballistic missile program, counter Iran’s development of other asymmetric and conventional weapons capabilities, deny Iran a nuclear weapon, and deny the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps access to assets and resources that sustain their destabilizing activities. “We will not hesitate,” said Principal Deputy Spokesperson Thomas Pigott, “to hold accountable anyone who supports Tehran’s proliferation activities.”
