The United States government has announced new sanctions targeting people and entities it claims have been involved in Iran’s drone program amid continued efforts by Washington to pile pressure on Tehran to change its legitimate political and military positions.

The US Treasury said in a statement on Tuesday that its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), in coordination with US Department of Justice, had taken actions against three individuals and six companies based in Iran, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and China for their alleged role in the procurement of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) components to an Iranian drones manufacturer.

The statement identified the three individuals based in Iran as Reza Amidi, Hossein Akbari, and Abbas Yousefnejad, all serving in top posts in the Rah Roshd International Trade Exchanges Development, a company also designated on Tuesday, saying they have been key in efforts to supply equipment and technology needed in the Iranian drone program.

Four UAE-based entities and one China-based entity were also designated under the same allegations.

The US Justice Department also announced criminal charges against Akbari and Amidi and against Rah Roshd as part of a lawsuit filed in the Eastern District of New York, according to the Treasury statement.

The sanctions are the second such action taken by the US government against Iran since February 4 when US President Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum ordering a campaign of maximum pressure on the country.

They are also in line with broader accusations leveled against Iran by the US and its Western allies about Tehran’s alleged supply of drones to Russia for use in the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Iranian authorities have repeatedly rejected the drone supply accusations while dismissing the significance of US sanctions and their impact on Iran’s military advancement.

The US has been imposing recurrent rounds of sanctions on Iran since Trump’s first term in 2017-21 when he withdrew Washington from an international deal on Iran’s nuclear program.

The sanctions have mostly targeted Iran’s oil trade and are meant to pressure the country to change its political and military strategies.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk