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.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned six senior employees of the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting, an Iranian state-controlled media organization that has broadcast “hundreds of forced confessions” of detainees in Iran. The IRIB was designated in 2013 for acting as a “critical tool in the Iranian government’s mass suppression and censorship campaign against its own people,” OFAC said. The latest designations target IRIB employees Ali Rezvani, Ameneh Sadat Zabihpour, Peyman Jebelli, Mohsen Bormahani, Ahmad Noroozi and Yousef Pouranvari.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week issued Counter Terrorism General License 21, which authorizes certain transactions related to safety and environmental measures through Dec. 15 for certain vessels blocked by the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations. The license allows docking, repair, crew safety and "environmental mitigation or protection" activities related to vessels owned by Victor Artemov and other shipping companies: Azul Vista Shipping Corp., Blue Berri Shipping Inc., Harbour Ship Management Limited, Pontus Navigation Corp., Technology Bright International Ltd., Triton Navigation Corp., and Vista Clara Shipping Corp.