The United States on Tuesday issued new sanctions on a network based in Iran and China that it accused of procuring ballistic missile propellant ingredients on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to increase pressure on Tehran.
In a statement, the U.S. Treasury Department said it was targeting six entities and six individuals as part of the action, which comes as the Trump administration has relaunched negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.
“Iran’s aggressive development of missiles and other weapons capabilities imperils the safety of the United States and our partners. It also destabilizes the Middle East and violates the global agreements intended to prevent the proliferation of these technologies.
“To achieve peace through strength, Treasury will continue to take all available measures to deprive Iran’s access to resources necessary to advance its missile program,”; Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
The sanctions on Tuesday are said to have targeted five China-based companies, one Iran-based firm, and six Iran-based individuals.
The Treasury accused the network of facilitating the procurement of sodium perchlorate and dioctyl sebacate from China to Iran.
According to the Treasury, sodium perchlorate is used to produce ammonium perchlorate, which, alongside dioctyl sebacate, is used in solid propellant rocket motors, which Treasury said are commonly used for ballistic missiles.
DAILY POST reports that the move on Tuesday is the latest action targeting Tehran since Trump restored his maximum pressure campaign on Iran, which includes efforts to drive its oil exports down to zero to help prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
Recall that Trump, in his first 2017-2021 term, withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers that placed strict limits on Tehran’s uranium enrichment activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
The Republican also reimposed sweeping U.S. sanctions.
Iran has since then surpassed the deal’s limits on uranium enrichment.
Meanwhile, Western powers accused Iran of having a hidden agenda to develop nuclear weapons capability by enriching uranium to a high level of fissile purity, above what they said is justifiable for a civilian atomic energy program.
However, Tehran, in response, said that its nuclear program is wholly for civilian power purposes.
