The United States has imposed fresh sanctions on a network of businesses it says provide financial support to an Iranian paramilitary force.
Announced on Tuesday, the US Treasury said the sanctions would affect a network of businesses tied to the Basij Resistance Force, a group that the US department said works with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
“The international community must understand that business entanglements with the Bonyad Taavon Basij network and IRGC front companies have real world humanitarian consequences,” US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
The sanctions were imposed on Bank Mellat, Mehr Eqtesad Bank, Mehr Eqtesad Iranian Investment Co and five other investment firms, the Treasury said.
Iran Tractor Manufacturing Co, the Middle East’s largest tractor manufacturer, and Esfahan’s Mobarakeh Steel Co, the largest steelmaker in the Middle East and North Africa region, are also affected.
