US Imposes New Iran-Related Sanctions On 5 Individuals, 7 Entities - Treasury

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th July, 2019) The United States on Thursday imposed new sanctions on five persons and seven entities over their alleged links to Iran's nuclear program, the Treasury Department said in a press release on Thursday.

"Today the US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) took action against a network of front companies and agents involved in the procurement of sensitive materials for sanctioned elements of Iran's nuclear program," the release said. "The individuals and entities targeted today are based in Iran, China, and Belgium and have acted as a procurement network for Iran's Centrifuge Technology Company (TESA), which plays a crucial role in Iran's uranium enrichment nuclear program through the production of centrifuges used in facilities belonging to the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI)."

The Treasury said the targeted�seven entities and five persons sought materials by the controlled by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).

"Under United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015), which endorsed the JCPOA, the sale, supply, or transfer to Iran of NSG-controlled items requires advance, case-by-case approval from the UN Security Council, with very narrow exceptions that do not apply in this case," it noted.

The sanctioned entities include Iranian company Bakhtar Raad Sepahan and its Belgium-based office TAWU Mechanical Engineering and Trading Company (TAWU BVBA), which the Treasury said facilitated deals for the purchase of�Chinese-origin aluminum products and their shipment from China to Iran on behalf of TESA.

The aluminum goods are used in Iranian TESA-made centrifuges,�and consist of some NSG-controlled items, the Treasury said.

Washington also sanctioned Sohayl Talebi, managing director of TAWU BVBA, and Mohammad Fakhrzadeh, a commercial director for TESA.

The sanctions also targeted Afsaneh Karimi-Adegani, an employee of Baktaar Raad Sepahan, for allegedly engaging China-based aluminum suppliers in order to fulfill procurement contracts with TESA and coordinating with TAWU BVBA, and TAWU BVBA's managing director to procure the aluminum goods, according to the release.

China-based Henan Jiayuan Aluminum Industry Company, Limited, Iran-based Tamin Kalaye Sabz Aras Company (Sabz Co.), China-based Suzhou Zhongsheng Magnetic Company Limited and Suzhou A-One Special Alloy CO., Ltd have also been been designated along with Salim Borji, the managing director of Sabz Co., and Mehdi Najafi, a representative of Sabz Co.

Last May, US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew his country from the international nuclear deal with Iran and began reimposing sanctions on the Islamic Republic. A little over a year later in June, Tehran announced that it would begin enriching uranium beyond the 3.67 percent level set in the JCPOA, adding that Tehran would go on gradually abandoning its nuclear commitments every 60 days.