US sanctions firms helping Iran boost its missile capabilities

A day after the US Senate tabled a bipartisan bill to tighten restrictions against Iran, the United States has imposed sanctions on 30 foreign companies or individuals for transferring sensitive technology to Iran for its missile program or for violating export controls on Iran, North Korea and Syria, the State Department said today.

Eleven companies or individuals from China, North Korea or the United Arab Emirates were sanctioned for technology transfers that could boost Tehran’s ballistic missile program, the State Department said in a statement.

Read: Iran threatens to resume nuclear programme if US does not honour deal

Nineteen entities or individuals were sanctioned for other violations under the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act, it said. They are believed to have transferred or acquired sensitive technology that could contribute to development of weapons of mass destruction.

Senators back Iran sanctions

Iran would face tighter US sanctions over ballistic missile launches and other non-nuclear activities under a bill announced yesterday by a bipartisan group of senators, echoing a harder line on Tehran espoused by Republican President Donald Trump.

The bill has seven Republican and seven Democratic sponsors, and aides said it has a good chance of eventually becoming law.

It would set mandatory sanctions for anyone involved with Iran’s ballistic missile program. And it would apply sanctions to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), putting into law sanctions imposed via executive order on individuals tied to what the bill’s sponsors describe as Iranian support for terrorism.

The IRGC, an elite military body, is powerful in Iranian politics and the economy, as well as operating and supporting Shia jihadist organisations throughout the world.

The legislation would also require the US president to block the property of any person or entity involved in specific activities that violate the UN arms embargo on Iran.

Iran has suggested about past proposed sanctions bills that they would violate the international nuclear agreement reached during the administration of former President Barack Obama.

Democratic Senator Robert Menendez, a co-author of the measure, told Reuters the new bill had been written not to interfere with that accord.

“We assiduously worked to make sure that no provisions actually affect the agreement as it is,” he said in an interview.

Aides said the bill is expected to pass the Senate because of the breadth of its support. Its lead sponsors include Republican Senator Bob Corker, the foreign relations committee chairman, and Ben Cardin, the panel’s ranking Democrat.

Trump wants hardline on Iran

 While the legislation would be expected to have strong Republican support, it would also need Democrats’ backing to advance in the Senate. To become law, the measure would also have to get through the House of Representatives and be signed by Trump.

Trump has made clear he wants to take a tough stance against Iran. A spokeswoman for Corker said he had been consulting with the Trump administration.

In February, the Trump administration imposed sanctions on 25 individuals and entities in Iran, which it said were just “initial steps” in its effort to counteract what it sees as provocations.

Read: Shell still cautious on Iranian oil, despite sanctions relief

Tehran has angered Washington by supporting Yemen’s rebel Shia Houthi movement, and Syrian dictator Bashar Al-Assad in his regime’s six-year-long war against his own people. It has also conducted repeated tests of ballistic missile technology in violation of a UN resolution.

Menendez said the bill was intended to take a “regional” strategy because of the breadth of Iran’s activities.

“It calls for a regional strategy because Iran is obviously involved in the region in various ways, whether it be in Yemen or Syria and beyond,” he told Reuters.

The bill was announced just before Sunday’s start of the annual conference in Washington of the influential pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC.