United States Imposed Sanctions on Iran's IRGC

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions targeting Iran's ballistic missile and drone procurement programs as well as officials it said were involved in hacking U.S. infrastructure, as Washington looks to increase pressure on Tehran.

The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement it had imposed sanctions on four Iran- and Hong Kong-based companies involved in providing materials and technology to Iran's ballistic missile and drone programs as well as a Hong Kong-based firm for selling Iranian commodities to Chinese entities. And also imposed the sanctions would be effective over the six officers of the IRGC's Cyber-Electronic Command. 

The Treasury also said it placed sanctions on six officials of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp's Cyber Electronic Command (IRGC-CEC) for malicious cyber activities against critical infrastructure in the United States and elsewhere. Iran's mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China's embassy to the United States criticized the sanctions as "unlawful unilateral" steps.

The sanctions, announced in separate statements, represent Washington's latest efforts to punish Tehran, whose proxies in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen and the Gaza Strip have attacked U.S. and Israeli targets.

The United States blamed a weekend attack on a U.S. base in Jordan that killed three American soldiers and wounded more than 40 on Iran-backed militants and the Biden administration has promised a response that will include retaliatory strikes.

Reuters