ALBAWABA- The United States announced sweeping new sanctions on Wednesday targeting Iran’s ballistic missile and drone industries, blacklisting 32 individuals and entities across eight countries accused of supporting Tehran’s weapons development and proliferation networks.
The U.S. Treasury Department said the sanctions, spanning Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, China, Hong Kong, India, Germany, and Ukraine, aim to disrupt the supply chains that provide Iran with components vital to the production of missile propellants and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
These technologies, Washington says, have enabled Iran to arm militant groups such as Yemen’s Houthis and Lebanon’s Hezbollah, threatening U.S. allies and global shipping routes in the Red Sea.
“Treasury is committed to dismantling Iran’s transnational procurement networks that endanger our forces and partners,” Undersecretary Brian Nelson said in a statement, accusing Tehran of exploiting global financial systems “to advance its malign activities.”
The measures freeze any U.S.-linked assets and prohibit American companies or individuals from conducting transactions with the designated entities.
Iran denounced the move as “economic terrorism,” according to state media, while China and other affected countries urged Washington to pursue dialogue rather than confrontation.
The sanctions mark the latest escalation in the 46-year U.S.–Iran shadow conflict, dating back to the 1979 hostage crisis. Tensions have intensified since the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA nuclear accord in 2018 under then-President Donald Trump, now back in office, whose “maximum pressure” strategy has cost Iran billions in oil revenue.
The new measures expand that approach, targeting not only uranium enrichment but also arms exports and drone networks used across Middle Eastern battlefronts.
