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2w ago

U.S. Hits Cross‑Border Network That Sought MANPADS for Iran’s IRGC

Washington used targeted State and Treasury designations to freeze assets and warn foreign banks that facilitating the network risks secondary sanctions.

U.S. and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken March 23, 2026. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
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A woman walks past a banner bearing the images of the late founder of the Islamic Revolution Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (L), late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and his son, current Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei (R), erected along a street at the Vanak Square in Tehran on June 10, 2026.

Overview

  • The United States placed sanctions on 13 people and companies and separately designated nine parties under OFAC authorities in actions announced on June 10–11, 2026 to disrupt weapons procurement for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
  • The State Department named Iran’s Center for Innovation and Technology Cooperation and its head Sajjad Ahadzadeh for seeking satellite imagery and courting Chinese suppliers to obtain man‑portable air‑defense systems (MANPADS).
  • Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control targeted China, Hong Kong, Dubai and Belarus‑linked intermediaries such as Yushita Shanghai and Armory Alliance for moving funds and arranging purchases for Iran’s MODAFL and the IRGC.
  • Officials invoked Executive Orders 13949, 13382 and 13902 to block property, add the targets to U.S. sanctions lists, and put foreign banks and firms on notice that doing business with them could trigger secondary sanctions.
  • The move extends the ‘Economic Fury’ campaign and follows earlier crypto and financial enforcement by Treasury; it aims to choke off procurement channels and could force Iran to rely more on covert banking, alternate suppliers, and riskier trade routes.