LONDON — The United Kingdom on Thursday hit the Iranian government with new sanctions that London says will also give it extensive new powers to disrupt Tehran’s “hostile activities” globally.
The sanctions, drafted in coordination with the United States, target the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and individuals linked to Tehran’s relations with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ).
The British Foreign Office said in a statement that the sanctions, originally announced in July, were introduced to respond to “unprecedented threats from the Iranian regime,” including Tehran's efforts to undermine security across the Middle East and plots to kill individuals on UK soil.
The measures target Iranian decision-makers as well as entities involved in the country’s drone program and shipping sector. They also include new trade restrictions aimed at Iran’s drone program itself and gives the UK government new powers to impose transport sanctions on ships violating existing sanctions or owned or controlled by designated individuals. The UK had previously sanctioned Iran over the use of its drones in Ukraine and elsewhere.
