On May 31, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated one Iranian executive and four entities based in Iran for supporting Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicle (“UAV”) program. The four designated entities are allegedly associated with the Rayan Roshd Afzar Company (“RRA”), a company that OFAC designated in 2017 for engaging in proliferation activities for the benefit of Iran’s military. OFAC also designated Afshin Khajeh Fard, the chief of the Iran Aviation Industries Organization (“IAIO”), a subsidiary of the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (“MODAFL”) that oversees the manufacture of UAVs in Iran. The MODAFL has been designated in the United States since 2007 for their connection to Iran’s ballistic missile program.
The new designations were imposed pursuant to Executive Order 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons and mass destruction and their means of delivery. 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.