Iranian Drone Network Sanctioned by US, UK, and Canada

The United States, along with the United Kingdom and Canada, announced on Thursday additional sanctions targeting Iran’s drone proliferation network.

The Treasury Department sanctioned more than a dozen entities, people, and vessels it said “played a central role in facilitating and financing the clandestine sale of Iranian” drones. This network works for Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, or MODAFL, which is involved in supporting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and the Guard supports Russia’s war in Ukraine.

“Iran’s Ministry of Defense continues to destabilize the region and world with its support to Russia’s war in Ukraine, unprecedented attack on Israel, and proliferation of UAVs and other dangerous military hardware to terrorist proxies,” Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said.

The U.S. said it targeted a company called Sahara Thunder, which it said was the main front overseeing MODAFL’s commercial activity and played a key role in the design, development, manufacture, and sale of thousands of drones. MODAFL has worked with Russia to finance and produce Iranian one-way attack drones in Russia.

“Today, the U.K. and our partners have sent a clear message — we will hold those responsible for Iran’s destabilizing behavior to account,” U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron said. “Alongside our partners, we will continue to tighten the net on Iran’s ability to develop and export these deadly weapons.”

The Treasury Department said that, as of late 2022, Russian officials were negotiating a deal that would have Sahara Thunder deliver and produce thousands of drones at this facility.

Several people involved with Sahara Thunder were sanctioned. Sahara Thunder’s shipping network that involves the transit of Iranian commodities on behalf of MODAFL includes China, Russia, and Venezuela. Washington also targeted two companies and a vessel involved in the shipment of Iranian drones.

Earlier this month, Iran fired more than three hundred cruise and ballistic missiles and attack drones toward Israel in an unprecedented attack in scope and scale. It was the first Iranian attack against Israel to be launched from Iranian soil. A coalition of allies, including the U.S., helped Israel intercept nearly all of the munitions.

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Iran’s attack was in response to an Israeli airstrike that hit a consulate in Damascus, Syria, that killed multiple military officials. Israel countered with a much smaller response, firing a handful of strikes into Iran, which proved its ability to do so.

The U.S. also announced sanctions on Iran’s drone program last week following the attack on Israel.