US Imposes Sanctions on Iran and Venezuela Over Alleged Drone Trade

US Imposes Sanctions on Venezuelan Company Over Alleged Iranian Drone Deal

The United States has imposed sanctions on Empresa Aeronautica Nacional SA (EANSA), a Venezuelan company, for allegedly helping acquire Iranian-designed drones. The penalties were announced by the US Department of the Treasury on Tuesday.

According to the department, EANSA maintains and oversees the assembly of drones from Iran’s Qods Aviation Industries, which is already under sanctions by Washington. The company’s chairman, Jose Jesus Urdaneta Gonzalez, has also been sanctioned for coordinating with members and representatives of the Venezuelan and Iranian armed forces on the production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in Venezuela.

The US Treasury Department stated that Tehran and Caracas have coordinated the provision of drones to Venezuela since 2006. Iran’s Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL) has been under US sanctions since 2020 for its role in selling and procuring weapons.

The sanctions freeze any assets of the targeted firms and individuals in the US and make it generally illegal for American citizens to engage in financial transactions with them. The actions come amid escalating tensions between the US and both Tehran and Caracas.

In a statement, Treasury official John Hurley said that Iran and Venezuela are being held accountable for their aggressive proliferation of deadly weapons around the world. The sanctions are part of a broader effort by the US to deprive those who enable Iran’s military-industrial complex access to the US financial system.

The US has also imposed new sanctions against several Iranians accused of links to Iran’s arms industry, following President Donald Trump’s threat to strike Iran if it rebuilds its missile capabilities or nuclear program. The US had previously joined Israel in attacking Iran and bombed the country’s three main nuclear sites before a ceasefire ended a 12-day escalation.

The Trump administration has taken a confrontational approach towards Venezuela, accusing the country of drug trafficking and seizing oil tankers off its coast. Venezuela has rejected these moves as “piracy” and accused the US of seeking to topple President Nicolas Maduro’s government.

Source: Al Jazeera