By Pishtaz | 2024-05-01

New US sanctions on Iran's drone sales program have targeted the leadership of Sahara Thunder, a front company for Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).

The US Treasury Department, alongside the United Kingdom and Canada, announced the sanctions on April 25, which targeted more than a dozen entities for the sale of Iranian drones for MODAFL, including Sahara Thunder.

The coordinated action followed Iran's unprecedented April 13 drone and missile attack on Israel.

Sahara Thunder oversees the commercial activities of MODAFL, which is involved in supporting Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Russia's war in Ukraine, according to a Treasury statement.

The sanctions targeted three Sahara Thunder officials -- Kazem Mirzai Kondori, Hossein Bakshayesh and Hojat Abdulahi Fard.

Bakhshayesh has been the managing director of Sahara Thunder. Fard has served as a board member at Sahara Thunder and a representative of Iranian company Etemad Tejarat Misagh, which is also a subsidiary of MODAFL, according to the statement.

Support for Russia

Sahara Thunder plays a key role in Iran's design, development, manufacture and sale of drones, many of which have been transferred to Russia, the statement said.

MODAFL has worked with Russia to finance and produce Iranian-designed one-way attack drones at a US-sanctioned facility in Russia under a $1.75 billion contract, it said.

Russian officials as of late 2022 were negotiating a deal for Sahara Thunder to deliver and produce thousands of drones per year at the facility.

The Russian military has used such drones to attack critical infrastructure and civilian targets in Ukraine.

The sanctions also targeted Sahara Thunder's shipping network, which the company used to ship Iranian commodities on behalf of MODAFL to China, Russia and Venezuela, among other countries.

"Iran's Ministry of Defense continues to destabilize the region and world with its support to Russia's war in Ukraine, unprecedented attack on Israel, and proliferation of UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] and other dangerous military hardware to terrorist proxies," Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson said in the statement.

"The United States, in close coordination with our British and Canadian partners, will continue to use all means available to combat those who would finance Iran's destabilizing activities."