US Enforces New Economic Penalties in Response to Iranian Drone Threat
TS2 SPACEDec 20, 2023
US Sanctions Network for Allegedly Supporting Iran's Drone Program
The Facts
The US Dept. of the Treasury issued fresh sanctions Tuesday against a foreign procurement network that has allegedly evaded trade restrictions to supply Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Force Self-Sufficiency Organization with sensitive equipment used to build unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
This third package of sanctions on the production of Shahed-series suicide drones targets 10 entities and four individuals located in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Iran, and Malaysia — blocking their access to assets within the US and preventing them from doing business with US citizens and financial institutions.
The Spin
Pro-establishment narrative
These sanctions are much needed to halt the nefarious Iran's drone program, which poses a threat not only to regional security but also to international peace. Without such measures to enforce existing restrictions to prevent Iran from accessing dual-use technology, Tehran will be able to continue ramping up its drone production and supply Russia and other of its allies with drones to use in conflict zones.
Establishment-critical narrative
Military cooperation between amicable countries, such as Russia and Iran, is both a legitimate and effective strategy for ensuring regional security and economic growth. The West continues to use Ukraine as a propaganda tool to demonize Iran-Russia ties as a threat to global peace, but such accusations are baseless attempts to distort the reality of friends on the international stage. Western hysteria over Iran's drone program is a prominent example of this.
Nerd narrative
There's an 8% chance that the US and Iran will be primary actors on opposite sides of a war before 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.