Treasury Department hits Iran with new sanctions

Oct. 29 (UPI) -- The Biden administration issued a new round of sanctions against Iran on Friday as President Joe Biden prepares to meet with G20 leaders on the possibility of returning to the Obama-era nuclear deal.

The Treasury Department declared sanctions against two senior officials of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps and two companies believed to have supplied weaponized drones and other equipment to militant groups in Ethiopia, Iraq, Lebanon and Yemen.

"Iran's proliferation of [Unmanned Aerial Vehicles] across the region threatens international peace and stability," Wally Adeyemo, deputy secretary of the Treasury, said in a statement. "Iran and its proxy militants have used UAVs to attack U.S. forces, our partners and international shipping. Treasury will continue to hold Iran accountable for its irresponsible and violent acts."

The department named the IRGC Brig. Gens. Saeed Aghajani and Abdollah Mehrabi along with the Kimia Part Sivan Co. and Oje Parvaz Mado Nafar Co. for sanctions.

The department said the weapons have gone to such militant groups as Hezbollah, Hamas, Kata'ib Hizballah, the Houthis rebels and to Ethiopia.

In a meeting in Moscow Friday, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Baqeri-Kani called for all U.S. sanctions to be removed for nuclear talks to begin again. Baqeri-Kani was in Moscow to meet with his Russian counterpart Sergei Ryabkov on the nuclear talks.

Biden is scheduled to meet Saturday in Rome with the leaders of France, Germany and Britain on Iran's nuclear program.