The US Treasury Department has placed a multipurpose ship on its blacklist in a round of sanctions targeting Iran’s ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicle export programmes.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control placed sanctions on the 23,200-dwt Parnia (built 1999).
Ofac said the Iranian-flag Parnia has historically been used to carry weapons exports for Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.
“The Parnia recently transported several Iranian Peykaap III fast attack missile patrol boats to Venezuela,” the agency said.
Shipping databases list the ship in the fleet of Tehran-based Rahbaran Omid Darya Ship Management, which could not be immediately reached for comment on the sanctions move. Ofac’s sanctions database links the vessel to major Iranian operator Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines, which also could not be reached for this story.
The vessel was a small part of a more sweeping round of sanctions by the US Treasury and State departments targeting 11 individuals and eight entities in Iran, Hong Kong, mainland China and Venezuela over Tehran’s weapons exports.
The move came on the same day that a United Nations Security Council resolution limiting Iran’s ballistic missile programme is set to expire.
Brian Nelson, the Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said Iran’s proliferation of its drones and other weapons prolongs conflicts around the world.
“The United States will continue to take action to disrupt Iran’s proliferation of UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] and other weapons to oppressive regimes and destabilising actors, and we encourage the international community to do the same,” he said.
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