On April 1, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned a network six entities and two individuals for procuring unmanned aerial vehicle (“UAV”) components on behalf of Qods Aviation Industries (“QAI”), the leading manufacturer for Iran’s UAV program. The network also procured parts for other entities in Iran’s military-industrial complex, including Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industrial Company (“HESA”) and Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group (“SBIG”) that were previously designated in the United States in 2008 and 2005, respectively. The new designees include Iran-based Rah Roshd International Trade Exchanges Development (“Rah Roshd”) and its managing director Hossein Akbari for procuring the servo motor model used in the Mohajer-6 combat UAV and other electronic components and parts for QAI. In 2013, OFAC designated Reza Amidi, another network member who served as a commercial manager for QAI and Rah Roshd.
The designations were imposed pursuant to Executive Order 13382, which targets those involved in the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their supporters. As a result of these designations, all property and interests in property of these designees within the United States or within the possession or control of a U.S. person are blocked, and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions involving the designated persons. Entities owned 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked.
In a concurrent action, the Department of Justice announced that criminal charges had been filed against Akbari, Amidi and Rah Roshd in the Eastern District of New York. On April 1, 2025, federal prosecutors unsealed a criminal complaint charging the defendants with conspiring to procure U.S. parts for Iranian UAVs; conspiring to provide material support to the IRGC, a designated foreign terrorist organization; and conspiring to commit money laundering. According to the DOJ, Akbari and Amidi remain at large.
U.S. Department of Treasury Press Release | DOJ Press Release