An Iranian army technician pilots during a military exercise. Photo: Iranian Army Office via AFP
An Iranian army technician pilots during a military exercise. Photo: Iranian Army Office via AFP
An Iranian army technician pilots during a military exercise. Photo: Iranian Army Office via AFP
An Iranian army technician pilots during a military exercise. Photo: Iranian Army Office via AFP

Iran drone programme target of latest US sanctions


Joyce Karam
  • English
  • Arabic

The US took aim at Tehran's drone programme on Friday by slapping new sanctions on four people and two entities linked to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In a statement, the Treasury Department said the IRGC has been providing Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or drones, to Iran-backed groups, including Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and to crisis-hit Ethiopia, “where the escalating crisis threatens to destabilise the broader region".

Iranian drone strikes have been directed against multiple tankers in the Arabian Gulf in recent years, including the May 2019 Fujairah attack off the UAE coast that damaged Saudi, Emirati and Norwegian vessels.

“Iran’s proliferation of UAVs across the region threatens international peace and stability. Iran and its proxy militants have used UAVs to attack US forces, our partners and international shipping,” Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said.

“Treasury will continue to hold Iran accountable for its irresponsible and violent acts.”

Friday's sanctions were placed on the commander of the IRGC's Aerospace Force, Saeed Aghajani, who is accused of ordering several drone attacks in Gulf waters over the past two years.

His unit orchestrated the July 29 attack on the commercial shipping vessel Mercer Street off the coast of Oman, which resulted in the deaths of two crewmen, the Treasury Department said.

“Aghajani also was behind a UAV attack against a Saudi Arabian oil refinery in 2019,” the statement read.

Also named in the sanctions was the IRGC's Gen Abdollah Mehrabi.

Two Iran-based drone companies, Kimia Part Sivan and Oje Parvaz Mado Nafar, along with two people affiliated with them, were added to the sanctions list for helping the IRGC modernise its drone programme.

The Treasury said the IRGC's Quds Force has used and distributed lethal drones throughout the region, noting that Iranian-funded groups including Hezbollah, Hamas in Gaza, Kata’ib Hezbollah in Iraq and the Houthi rebels in Yemen have received Iranian UAVs.

The statement said the Ethiopian government has also used Iranian UAVs against rebels in the northern Tigray region.

Open-source intelligence website Oryx reported in August that Ethiopia had secured a contract with Iran for the delivery of Mohajer-6 unmanned combat aerial vehicles.

“After seemingly having arrived at Ethiopia's Semara airport in north-eastern Ethiopia on the 1st of August, the drones' Ground Control Station (GCS) was then pictured as Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed visited the base not more than two days later,” the intelligence website said.

The Ethiopian embassy in Washington was not immediately available for comment.

Agencies contributed to this report

A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro
Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books 

Squid Game season two

Director: Hwang Dong-hyuk 

Stars:  Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon and Lee Byung-hun

Rating: 4.5/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

THE BIO

Bio Box

Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul

Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader

Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet

Favorite food: seafood

Favorite place to travel: Lebanon

Favorite movie: Braveheart

Simran

Director Hansal Mehta

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Soham Shah, Esha Tiwari Pandey

Three stars

Courses%20at%20Istituto%20Marangoni%2C%20Dubai
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUndergraduate%20courses%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EInterior%20Design%3B%20Product%20Design%3B%20Visual%20Design%3B%20Fashion%20Design%20%26amp%3B%20Accessories%3B%20Fashion%20Styling%20%26amp%3B%20Creative%20Direction%3B%20Fashion%20Business%3B%20Foundation%20in%20Fashion%3B%20Foundation%20in%20Design%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EProfessional%20courses%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EFashion%20e-Commerce%20%26amp%3B%20Digital%20Marketing%3B%20Fashion%20Entrepreneurship%3B%20Fashion%20Luxury%20Retail%20and%20Visual%20Merchandising%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EShort%20courses%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EFashion%20design%3B%20Fashion%20Image%20%26amp%3B%20Styling%3B%20Fashion%20Trend%20Forecasting%3B%20Interior%20Design%3B%20Digital%20Art%20in%20Fashion%3Cbr%3EMore%20information%20is%20at%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fwww.istitutomarangoni.com%2Fen%3Futm_source%3DLocal%26utm_medium%3Dorganic%26utm_campaign%3Dgmb%26utm_content%3Ddubai%22%20target%3D%22_self%22%3Ewww.istitutomarangoni.com%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Maxus T60

Price, base / as tested: Dh48,000

Engine: 2.4-litre four-cylinder

Power: 136hp @ 1,600rpm

Torque: 360Nm @ 1,600 rpm

Transmission: Five-speed manual

Fuel consumption, combined: 9.1L / 100km

Five personal finance podcasts from The National

 

To help you get started, tune into these Pocketful of Dirham episodes 

·

Balance is essential to happiness, health and wealth 

·

What is a portfolio stress test? 

·

What are NFTs and why are auction houses interested? 

·

How gamers are getting rich by earning cryptocurrencies 

·

Should you buy or rent a home in the UAE?  

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

Abramovich London

A Kensington Palace Gardens house with 15 bedrooms is valued at more than £150 million.

A three-storey penthouse at Chelsea Waterfront bought for £22 million.

Steel company Evraz drops more than 10 per cent in trading after UK officials said it was potentially supplying the Russian military.

Sale of Chelsea Football Club is now impossible.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Updated: October 29, 2021, 4:28 PM`