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US unveils sanctions targeting Iran's drone program

The Treasury Department issued fresh sanctions on Friday targeting individuals and companies the United States says are supporting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ drone program.

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images
A man in a medical mask speaks on the phone while walking past a mural depicting a US Air Force unmanned aerial vehicle painted on the outer walls of the former US Embassy in Iran's capital Tehran on Oct. 9, 2021. — ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

The Biden administration sanctioned several Iranian companies and individuals on Friday in connection with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ drone program, including an Iranian commander believed responsible for the deadly attack this summer on the Mercer Street commercial vessel.  

A statement from the Treasury Department described the use of lethal unmanned aerial vehicles by the IRGC’s elite Quds Force in attacks on international shipping and on US forces. Iranian-supplied drones are also used by Tehran-backed groups in countries including Lebanon, Iraq and Yemen as well as in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, the statement said. 

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