US Welcomes New EU Sanctions Against the Islamic Republic; We Will Continue to Counter Tehran's Threats

The Deputy Special Representative of the United States for Iran welcomed the new sanctions imposed by the European Union against individuals and entities within the structure of the Islamic Republic on Friday, stating that the United States will continue to counter the range of threats posed by Iran. Abram Paley wrote in a post on social media platform X on June 1: "We welcome today's EU sanctions against several Iranian individuals and entities involved in the development of missiles and drones and their distribution among proxy militia forces and terrorists." He described the range of Tehran's threats as "broad" and "destabilizing to global peace, prosperity, and security," adding, "We have also added to our own sanctions against the Islamic Republic today." The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department announced on June 1 that it had sanctioned four entities and one individual active in Iran's drone program. Ryan Van Cavendish, Mekatroniks Kish, Aerospace Technologies of Sepehr Structure, and Marsad Mohajer are the four companies, and Afshin Khajefard, a manager at Iran's Aviation Industries Organization, is the newly sanctioned individual by the United States. On the same day, the European Union sanctioned six individuals and three entities of the Islamic Republic due to their roles in transferring drones to Russia and supplying drones and missiles to "militia groups and entities undermining peace and security in the Middle East and the Red Sea." Ismail Qaani, Mohammad Reza Qaraei Ashtiani, Gholamali Rashid, Afshin Khajefard, Hossein Hatefi Ardakani, and Mehdi Dehghani Mohammadi Abadi are among the individuals listed in the EU sanctions, along with the Central Headquarters of Khatam al-Anbiya, the Navy of the IRGC, and the company "Kavan Electronic Behrad," which are three entities added to the EU sanctions list.