The United States on Friday issued new sanctions targeting suppliers of Iranian drones that Washington said Russia used to target civilian infrastructure in Ukraine during the war.
The US Treasury Department said in a statement that it imposed sanctions on six executives and members of the board of directors of Al-Quds Aviation Industry Company, also known as the Light Aircraft Design and Manufacturing Industries Company.
The Treasury described Al-Quds, which itself has been subject to US sanctions since 2013, as a major Iranian defense manufacturer responsible for the design and production of drones.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said in the statement that Iran had delivered the drones for use in Russia's unprovoked war in Ukraine.
She added, "The Kremlin's reliance on suppliers of last resort, such as Iran, shows their desperation in the face of the brave Ukrainian resistance and the success of the international coalition in disrupting Russia's military supply chains."
"We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to deny (Russian President) Vladimir Putin the weapons he is using to wage his brutal and unprovoked war on Ukraine," she said.
The director of Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization, which the Treasury Department said is the primary organization responsible for overseeing Iran's ballistic missile programmes, was also targeted for the new sanctions.
The action taken today freezes any US assets of those mentioned and generally prevents Americans from doing business with them.
Those who engage in certain transactions with them risk exposing themselves to penalties as well.
The United States had previously imposed sanctions on companies and people it accused of producing or transporting Iranian drones that Russia used to attack civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.
Iran has acknowledged sending drones to Russia, but says it sent them before the start of the war on Ukraine in February.
Moscow denied that its forces used Iranian drones in Ukraine.