The Treasury announced new sanctions Thursday on five Iranian entities affiliated with the country's ballistic missile program.



All five Iranian entities are subordinates of the Iranian company Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group.

The new restrictions will prevent the entities from dealing financially with U.S. citizens and financial institutions. 



The announcement comes as tens of thousands of Iranians have taken to the streets, including in the nation's capital of Tehran, to protest the government. </s> The Treasury Department on Thursday sanctioned five Iranian entities linked to the country’s ballistic missile program.

The action comes amid anti-government protests in Iran, which have received vocal support from the White House.

President Donald Trump must also decide by Jan. 11 whether to continue waiving economic sanctions against the country, which were lifted as part of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Those waivers must be renewed every 120 days.

The entities sanctioned today are affiliated with Iran’s Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group, which develops and produces missiles, Treasury said. The U.S. will freeze any financial assets of the designated entities that are within U.S. jurisdiction, and Americans are prohibited from dealing with them commercially.

The Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group itself is already sanctioned by the U.S. The new entities sanctioned are Shahid Kharrazi Industries; Shahid Sanikhani Industries; Shahid Moghaddam Industries; Shahid Eslami Research Center, and Shahid Shustari Industries. Each are responsible for different stages of development for ballistic missiles, Treasury said.

“These sanctions target key entities involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program, which the Iranian regime prioritizes over the economic well-being of the Iranian people,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. </s> The U.S. Treasury Department's sanctions come amid anti-government protests in Iran, which have received vocal support from the White House. | Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images Treasury sanctions Iranian entities linked to ballistic missile production

The Treasury Department on Thursday sanctioned five Iranian entities linked to the country’s ballistic missile program.

The action comes amid anti-government protests in Iran, which have received vocal support from the White House.

Story Continued Below

President Donald Trump must also decide by Jan. 11 whether to continue waiving economic sanctions against the country, which were lifted as part of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Those waivers must be renewed every 120 days.

The entities sanctioned today are affiliated with Iran’s Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group, which develops and produces missiles, Treasury said. The U.S. will freeze any financial assets of the designated entities that are within U.S. jurisdiction, and Americans are prohibited from dealing with them commercially.

POLITICO Playbook newsletter Sign up today to receive the #1-rated newsletter in politics Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time.

The Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group itself is already sanctioned by the U.S. The new entities sanctioned are Shahid Kharrazi Industries; Shahid Sanikhani Industries; Shahid Moghaddam Industries; Shahid Eslami Research Center, and Shahid Shustari Industries. Each are responsible for different stages of development for ballistic missiles, Treasury said.

“These sanctions target key entities involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program, which the Iranian regime prioritizes over the economic well-being of the Iranian people,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. </s> The United States on Thursday sanctioned five Iranian-based entities it said were owned or controlled by a industrial firm responsible for developing and producing Iran's solid-propellant ballistic missiles.

"These sanctions target key entities involved in Iran's ballistic missile program, which the Iranian regime prioritizes over the economic well-being of the Iranian people," U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

The Treasury Department said the five sanctioned entities - the Shahid Eslami Research Center, Shahid Kharrazi Industries, Shahid Moghaddam Industries, Shahid Sanikhani Industries and Shahid Shustari Industries - were subordinated to the Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group.

The sanctions freeze any property the entities hold in the United States and prohibit Americans from dealing with them. </s> WASHINGTON—The U.S. imposed sanctions on five entities tied to Iran’s ballistic-missile program, seeking to punish Tehran for its management of the economy as thousands of Iranians protest against their government.

Treasury Department officials blamed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other parts of the government for funding proxies across the Middle East despite the needs of the Iranian people at home. </s> The United States is imposing new sanctions against 18 individuals and entities over their support for Iran's ballistic missile program and other military-related activities.

The sanctions come one day after Washington certified that Iran is complying with the 2015 nuclear deal and will continue to receive nuclear-related sanctions relief.

The U.S. Department of Treasury said in a statement on July 18 it was targeting 16 entities and individuals for ”engaging in support of illicit Iranian actors or transnational criminal activity.”

Those sanctioned have supported Iran's military or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by developing military equipment, producing and maintaining fast-attack boats, and procuring electronic components, the treasury said.

"This Administration will continue to aggressively target Iran's malign activity, including their ongoing state support of terrorism, ballistic missile program, and human rights abuses," Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin was quoted as saying in the statement.

The State Department also said it is designating two Iranian organizations involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Iran was testing and developing ballistic missiles "in direct defiance" of a UN Security Council resolution.

The new sanctions were "in response to these continued Iranian threats," she said in a July 18 statement.

The State Department called on Iran to release U.S. citizens including Baquer Namazi, Siamak Namazi, and Xiyue Wang whose arrest and prison sentence on espionage charges was announced by a judiciary spokesman over the weekend.

With reporting by Reuters and dpa </s> U.S. Treasury slaps sanctions on Iranian companies after satellite launch

The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on Friday on six subsidiaries of an Iranian company key to Iran's ballistic missile program in response to Tehran's "continued provocative actions," including Thursday's launch of a space launch vehicle, Reuters reported.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control imposed the sanctions on six Iran-based companies owned or controlled by Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, the Treasury said in a statement. </s> The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions Thursday against five "Iran-based entities subordinate to a key element of Iran's ballistic missile program." The five entities targeted are subsidiaries of Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group (SBIG), which is part of Iran's Defense Ministry. While Shahid is already under U.S. sanctions, the new designations ensure its subsidiaries are also punished.

"These sanctions target key entities involved in Iran's ballistic missile program, which the Iranian regime prioritizes over the economic well-being of the Iranian people," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. "As the Iranian people suffer, their government and the IRGC fund foreign militants, terrorist groups, and human rights abuses."

"The United States will continue to decisively counter the Iranian regime's malign activity, including additional sanctions targeting human rights abuses," Mnuchin added.

The sanctions come after a week of protests in Iran, although the sanctions are not related to the unrest, The Associated Press reports. Last month U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley showed reporters missile parts with logos suggesting they were manufactured by Shahid. Haley said the fragments were recovered from missiles Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched at Saudi Arabia in Yemen. </s> The U.S. imposed sanctions on five entities tied to Iran's ballistic-missile program, seeking to punish Tehran for its management of the economy as thousands of Iranians protest against their government.

Treasury Department officials blamed Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and other parts of the government for funding proxies across the Middle East despite the needs of the Iranian people at home.

"As the Iranian people suffer, their government and the IRGC fund foreign militants, terrorist groups, and human rights abuses," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Thursday. "We will not hesitate to call out the regime's economic mismanagement and diversion of significant resources to fund threatening missile systems at the expense of its citizenry."

Trump administration officials said they would be watching closely for human-rights abuses committed against protesters. "We have ample authorities to hold accountable those who commit violence against protesters, contribute to censorship, or steal from the people of Iran," State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.

The entities sanctioned on Thursday, which the administration has assessed are related to one another, are responsible for the development of guidance systems, solid propellants, motor cases and research for the country's missile program.

Officials at Iran's United Nations mission didn't respond to a request for comment.

The sanctions aren't related to Iran's nuclear program, which is covered by the 2015 international nuclear agreement under which Iran agreed not to advance its program and world powers agreed to lift economic sanctions.
The U.S. Treasury sanctions five Iranian entities associated with Iran's ballistic missile program.