The United States on Tuesday slapped sanctions on five Iranian companies for their alleged role in the country's missile and nuclear programs and support for the Hezbollah militant group, Xinhua reported.
The U.S. Treasury Department put Bonyad Taavon Sepah, Ansar Bank, Mehr Bank, Moallem Insurance Company and Liner Transport Kish on its blacklist, alleging that the first company provides services to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its Executive Director Parviz Fattah, the two banks provides financial services to the IRGC, the insurance company provides marine insurance to the vessels of the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) while the last offers material support to Hezbollah including weapons on behalf of the IRGC.
"Both the IRGC and IRISL are major institutional participants in Iran's illicit conduct and in its attempts to evade sanctions," Undersecretary of Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey said. "We will therefore continue to target and expose their networks."
The Treasury Department said that the IRGC continues to be a primary focus of U.S. and international sanctions against Iran " because of the central role it plays in Iran's missile and nuclear programs, its support for terrorism as well as its involvement in serious human rights abuses." It said the U.S., UN, EU, Japan, South Korea and others have all targeted the IRGC for sanctions because of "this illicit activity."
The IRGC was blacklisted by the U.S. State Department in October 2007 for "having engaged or attempted to engage in proliferation related activities." The Treasury has designated to date 14 IRGC-affiliated individuals and entities since June 2010 for facilitating Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile program or support for terrorism.
The Treasury alleged that the IRISL, Iran's national maritime carrier, "plays a key role in Iran's efforts to advance its missile programs and transport other military cargoes," and the enhanced focus of U.S. and international sanctions has made its operations difficult.
The IRISL was designated by the Treasury in September 2008 for its alleged role in Iran's ballistic missile program.
In a separate action, the Treasury on Tuesday identified Pars Oil and Gas Company as an entity being owned or controlled by the Iranian government, therefore prohibiting transactions between U.S. persons and the energy concern.
"All I would tell you is that, you know, this is part of the ongoing game of cat and mouse, if you will, between Iran and the international community," U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters on Tuesday. "We have significant sanctions on Iran. They don't remain static. They try to do everything that they can to evade these sanctions, and as they take actions, you know, we also take corresponding actions."
"We continue to look at what's happening in Iran and continue to sanction, you know, those entities that we think are controlled by the government and are directly related to, you know, their proliferation activities," the spokesman added.