By al-Fassel | 2024-05-01

Following recent sanctions on Iran's drone program and steel industry, the United States has designated an Iranian automaker involved in providing "material support" to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The US Treasury Department on April 18 sanctioned three subsidiaries of Iranian automaker Bahman Group, in response to the Islamic Republic's first direct attack on Israel, on April 13 with more than 300 drones and missiles.

The three subsidiaries have continued materially supporting the IRGC and other sanctioned entities, including Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL), a Treasury statement said.

Bahman Group itself is being concurrently designated for owning these entities.

Bahman Diesel Co. produces heavy trucks and other work vehicles for Iran's armed forces that have been used in IRGC military operations, including those involving drones and missiles, the Treasury said.

Iran Docharkh Co. sells millions of dollars' worth of motorcycles annually to the Armed Forces Personnel Cooperative Organization (ETKA), which has ties to Iran's missile program and the IRGC.

And Iran Chassis Manufacturing Co. has purchased tens of millions of dollars' worth of goods from Esfahan's Mobarakeh Steel Co., Iran's largest steel producer.

Mobarakeh, sanctioned in 2018, is a revenue stream for Bonyad Taavon Basij, a network of more than 20 businesses that has been financing the paramilitary Basij force.

"Iran's metals sector generates the equivalent of several billion dollars in revenue annually, with the majority coming from steel exports," the Treasury said.