Iran’s military: US slaps sanctions on network it accuses of moving billions

WASHINGTON: The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on nearly 50 entities and people it accused of moving billions of dollars for Iran’s military.

The US Treasury Department in a statement said those targeted on Tuesday constitute a “shadow banking network” used by Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), both of which are under US sanctions.

The network helped the MODAFL and IRGC - which earn money notably from the sale of oil and petrochemicals - gain access to the international financial system and process the equivalent of billions of dollars since 2020, the Treasury said.

The Treasury said the revenue generated by the MODAFL and IRGC through networks of Iranian exchange houses and foreign cover companies supported the provision of weapons and funding to Iran’s proxy groups, including Yemen’s Houthi group, and the transfer of drones to Russia for use in the war against Ukraine. Washington has issued rafts of sanctions targeting Iranian drones and the Houthis, who have been launching drone and missile strikes in shipping lanes since November in what they say is solidarity with Palestinians in Israel’s war in Gaza.