The United States has announced a new wave of Iran-related sanctions aimed at dismantling financial networks accused of funding Tehran’s military apparatus, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force and the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).
According to the US Treasury Department, the sanctions target individuals and entities operating in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates, accused of facilitating illicit fund transfers tied to Iranian oil sales. Washington described these networks as “shadow banking” systems that exploit the global financial order, laundering money through overseas front companies and cryptocurrency to evade existing sanctions.
The move builds on measures introduced in June, when the US sanctioned actors linked to the sourcing of sensitive machinery for Iran’s defense industry. The latest sanctions come as geopolitical tensions between Washington and Tehran remain high, with prospects for renewed nuclear talks clouded by US demands to restrict Iran’s ballistic and hypersonic missile programs—demands Tehran has rejected. The suspension of the sixth round of Iran-US negotiations followed Israeli and American strikes on Iranian military and nuclear facilities earlier this year, which were met with Iranian retaliation in the form of missile barrages against Israel, underscoring the heightened volatility of the standoff.
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