The Treasury and State departments on Aug. 20 sanctioned six members of the Syrian government and military to further pressure the Bashar Al-Assad regime. Treasury’s sanctions target Luna Al Shibl, a senior adviser and press officer for Assad, and Mohamad Ammar Saati bin Mohamad Nawzad, a longtime leader within the Syrian Ba’ath Party who has served in high-ranking government positions. The State Department sanctioned Yasser Ibrahim, an Assad supporter; Fadi Saqr, a Syrian National Defense Forces commander; Ghaith Dalah, an NDF brigadier general; and Samer Ismail, a regiment commander.
The United Nations Security Council Committee revised entries for two people and three entities on its Democratic Republic of the Congo Sanctions List, it said Aug. 19. The changes add identifying information, including addresses and personal details.
A top U.S. intelligence official urged companies to avoid supply chains involving Huawei, and said there is a strong push within the administration to bolster domestic production of 5G technologies. Constance Taube, National Counterintelligence and Security Center deputy director, said U.S. companies should approach Huawei and other Chinese state-controlled companies with a high degree of skepticism, saying their supply chains will ultimately benefit from more trusted actors.
The State Department’s Directorate of Defense Trade Controls issued a notice Aug. 19 to industry on payment methods in the Defense Export Control and Compliance System. New or renewal registrants must include the DDTC Account Number 1900000128 with their registration fee payment information when using the Automated Clearing House (ACH) debit payment method, DDTC said. The registrant “will experience a payment failure if the DDTC Account Number is not used,” the notice said.
A bipartisan group of senators urged the Trump administration to expand sanctions on the Democratic Republic of the Congo, saying current restrictions have not done enough to curb corruption and human rights abuses there. The sanctions should include additional designations of DRC government officials and increased restrictions on officials who are creating “new companies” to avoid U.S. sanctions, nine senators said in an Aug. 17 letter to Treasure Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned two United Arab Emirates-based companies and a business owner for supporting sanctioned Iranian airline Mahan Air, an Aug. 19 news release said. The designations target Parthia Cargo, Delta Parts Supply FZC and Iranian national Amin Mahdavi, who owns Parthia Cargo. OFAC said the companies provided “key parts and logistics services” that help Mahan Air sustain its fleet of “western manufactured aircraft.” The parts and services also help the airline transport terrorists, “lethal cargo” and technical equipment to Syria and Venezuela.
The United Nations Security Council Committee granted a sanctions exemption to allow a nongovernmental organization in South Korea to deliver humanitarian goods to North Korea, an Aug. 13 letter said. Medical Aid for Children is authorized to ship certain medical items, including dental equipment, for the next six months. The UNSC added that South Korea may conduct “necessary business and financial transactions only for the purchase of goods and services exempted” by the committee.
The U.S. will soon trigger snapback sanctions under the Iran nuclear deal after the United Nations Security Council rejected the U.S.’s attempt to extend the Iranian arms embargo (see 2008170017), Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said. Speaking during an Aug. 19 press conference, Pompeo said the U.S. expects the sanctions to be enforced even as other U.N. members question whether the U.S. has the authority to invoke the sanctions (see 2007010030 and 2006090047). “The president has made clear we’re going to do that soon, and we will,” Pompeo said. “We have every expectation that they’ll be enforced just like every other U.N. Security Council resolution that is in place.”
Flir Systems, a U.S.-based producer of thermal imaging cameras, is being investigated for possible export control violations, the company said in an Aug. 6 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Flir said it voluntarily disclosed the potential violations to the State, Commerce and Justice departments in 2017.
The European Union and the United Kingdom plan to sanction Belarusian authorities for their violence against peaceful protesters after the country’s presidential elections earlier this month. The EU is working on “new listings for sanctions against those responsible for violence,” Josep Borrell, EU’s foreign policy chief, said Aug. 18. U.K. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the EU needs to conduct an “independent investigation” into Belarus’ elections. “The UK will work with our international partners to sanction those responsible, and hold the Belarusian authorities to account,” Raab said. Borrell said EU heads of state will discuss sanctions actions during an Aug. 19 meeting.