On December 3, 2020, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated the Shahid Meisami Group and its director pursuant to Executive Order 13382, which targets proliferators of Weapons of Mass Destruction and their supporters, for participating in Iran’s chemical weapons research program. The Shahid Meisami Group is subordinate to the Iranian Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research (SPND), which was designated by the US in 2014 pursuant to Executive Order 13382; Shahid Meisami projects have been responsible for testing and maximizing the toxicity of incapacitating chemical agents used by Iran in its undeclared chemical weapons program.
The Shahid Meisami Group was designated by OFAC for being owned or controlled by the SPND, and its director was designated for acting, directly or indirectly, on behalf of the Shahid Meisami Group. As a result of these designations, all US property belonging to this individual and entity is blocked, and transactions in the US are generally prohibited. In addition, any person who engages in transactions with a designated individual or entity may be exposed to sanctions or subject to an enforcement action.