U.S. Targets Iranian Ballistic Missile Program With Fresh Sanctions

Iranian weaponry has been a prominent feature of events in the Middle East in the past few weeks, from the Iranian missiles that rained down on Erbil, northern Iraq on March 13 to the display of Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp (IRGC) armaments (next to a U.S. stand) at a defence show in Qatar on March 21-23.

Yemen’s Houthi rebel group, which has strong ties to Iran, also continues to aim missiles and armed drones at targets in Saudi Arabia and, with less frequency, the UAE. A Houthi attack on a Saudi Aramco oil facility in Jeddah on March 25 caused a huge fire, just as the west coast city was gearing up for a Formula 1 Grand Prix.

International attention has generally been focused on Tehran’s nuclear weapons intentions over the past decade. That led to a deal signed by then-President Barack Obama in 2015 to limit Iran’s nuclear activities, which was torpedoed by his successor Donald Trump in 2018. President Joe Biden launched efforts to revive the deal when he came to office, although negotiations in Vienna, Austria are currently stalled.

However, while a potential atomic weapons program might have grabbed the world’s attention, Iran’s ballistic missile arsenal is a more immediate concern for its near neighbors on the other side of the Gulf’s waters.

Analysts at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) estimate that Iran has the region’s largest and most diverse missile arsenal, with both ballistic and cruise missiles, some of which have a range of up to 3,000km.

The U.S. has now taken some further steps to address this threat, in an attempt to signal to the likes of Saudi Arabia and the UAE that it remains engaged in the region – despite what some officials in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh often think.

On March 30, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against Iranian missile procurement agent Mohammad Ali Hosseini and four companies in his network: Iran-based Jestar Sanat Delijan, Sina Composite Delijan Company, Sayehban Sepehr Delijan, and PB Sadr Company.

Washington claims all have been involved in trying to procure equipment used for Iran’s ballistic missile program. In one specific allegation, the U.S. authorities said Hosseini had been involved in the sourcing of machinery from China using falsified shipping documents.

This procurement network works on behalf of the IRGC Research and Self-Sufficiency Jihad Organization (RSSJO) – the IRGC unit responsible for the research and development of ballistic missiles.

Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence Brian Nelson said the sanctions were designed to reinforce Washington’s “commitment to preventing the Iranian regime’s development and use of advanced ballistic missiles. While the United States continues to seek Iran’s return to full compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [the 2015 nuclear deal], we will not hesitate to target those who support Iran’s ballistic missile program.”