Bloomberg : US Sanctions Iran Defense Attache in China Over Missile Program

 Bloomberg

US Sanctions Iran Defense Attache in China Over Missile Program

The US sanctioned several people and companies in Iran, China and Hong Kong, including Tehran’s defense attache in Beijing, that it said help procure items for Iran’s ballistic missile program.

The attache, Davoud Damghani, is accused of working to obtain instruments and materials allegedly used in the missile program, including accelerometers, gyroscopes and nonferrous metals, the US Treasury Department said in a statement Tuesday. Damghani was involved in a network that used Chinese companies to procure electronics and centrifuges for Iran’s defense industry for the development of weapons.

Treasury Undersecretary Brian Nelson said the US will “continue to target illicit procurement networks that covertly support Iran’s ballistic missile production and other military programs.”

The measures, which targeted seven individuals and six entities, are connected to March 2022 sanctions on Tehran-based P.B. Sadr Co., which Treasury said was involved in buying and sourcing material to develop missile propellant.