The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week designated three Iranian security officials for actions connected with the government's "continuing crackdown on protests. The sanctions target two key officials in the city of Sanandaj, the capital of Kurdistan province: Hassan Asgari, the governor of Sanandaj, and Alireza Moradi, the commander of Law Enforcement Forces of Iran in Sanandaj. The third designee is Mohammad Taghi Osanloo, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Ground Forces who oversees Iran’s West Azerbaijan province.

Canada this week imposed additional sanctions on the Alexander Lukashenko regime in Belarus for aiding Russia’s invasion and war in Ukraine. The new designations apply to 22 Belarusian officials, including people involved in stationing and transporting Russian military personnel and equipment. Canada also sanctioned 16 Belarusian companies involved in military manufacturing, technology, engineering, banking and railway transportation.

The U.S. is considering additional sanctions against Iran for supplying Russia with drones, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said during a Nov. 22 call with reporters. The Biden administration has already designated Iranian firms and people involved in the sales of unmanned aerial vehicles to Russia (see 2211150060), including for UAV support efforts in Ukraine, but Kirby said the U.S. can still impose further sanctions.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control on Nov. 21 extended a Russia-related general license that authorizes the payment of certain taxes and import fees to the Central Bank of the Russian Federation, the National Wealth Fund of the Russian Federation or the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation despite the sanctions imposed on those entities. General License 13C, which replaces GL 13B (see 2209080047), extends the authorization through 12:01 a.m. EST on March 7, 2023. GL13B was scheduled to expire Dec. 7.

Canada recently announced sanctions against three Haitian political elites for providing “illicit financial and operational support to armed gangs.” Canada said the three people use their positions as current or former public office holders to “protect and enable the illegal activities of armed criminal gangs, including through money laundering and other acts of corruption.” Canada previously sanctioned Jimmy Cherizier, the leader of the Haitian gang G9 (see 2211140008).

The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated two people and three companies for their roles in exploiting the Guatemalan mining sector, along with three associated entities connected with their corruption schemes, according to a Nov. 18 news release.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control in a Nov. 18 notice issued Russia-related General License 54 authorizing all transactions necessary for the purchase or receipt of any debt or equity securities of VEON Ltd, a multinational telecommunication services company. The license authorizes transactions that would otherwise be prohibited by executive order 14071, Prohibiting New Investment in and Certain Services to the Russian Federation, provided that the debt or equity securities were issued prior to June 6. The license does not authorize transactions otherwise prohibited by the Russian Harmful Foreign Activities Sanctions Regulations, including transactions involving any blocked person, unless separately authorized.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated La Nueva Familia Michoacana and its co-leaders, Johnny Hurtado Olascoaga and Jose Alfredo Hurtado Olascoaga, for smuggling drugs "into and throughout" the U.S., including the proliferation of "rainbow fentanyl," according to a Nov. 17 news release.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 13 companies for facilitating the sale of Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum products. The companies facilitated sales to East Asian buyers on behalf of Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry Commercial, Triliance Petrochemical, and the National Iranian Oil Co., which are all previously sanctioned entities, OFAC said in a Nov. 17 news release. The action is the fifth round of designations targeting Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical trade since June, OFAC said.

Canada this week announced another set of sanctions against Iran for its “ongoing gross and systematic human rights violations,” targeting six people and two entities. The sanctioned entities are Shahed Aviation Industries, a weapons research, development and manufacturing firm, and Qods Aviation Industries, a state-owned drone manufacturing company. The country also sanctioned several military and police force officials: Seyyed Yahya Safavi, Seyyed Hojatollah Qureishi, Saeed Aghajani, Ali Azadi, Abbas Abdi and Seyyed Ali Saffari.