The US Department of the Treasury today took further action to implement existing sanctions against Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) by designating a general and four companies affiliated with the IRGC, pursuant to Executive Order 13382. This Executive Order freezes the assets of designated proliferators of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and their supporters.
Today’s action focuses in particular on Khatam al Anbiya Construction Headquarters and IRGC General Rostam Qasemi. Qasemi is the commander of Khatam al Anbiya Construction Headquarters, the engineering arm of the IRGC that serves to help the IRGC generate income and fund its operations.
Khatam al Anbiya is owned and controlled by the IRGC and is involved in the construction of streets, highways, tunnels, water conveyance projects, agricultural restoration projects, and pipelines. The Treasury Department also designated four companies that are owned or controlled by, or that act on behalf of, Khatam al Anbiya, including: Fater Engineering Institute, Imensazen Consultant Engineers Institute (ICEI), Makin Institute, and Rahab Institute.
The IRGC has a growing presence in Iran’s financial and commercial sectors and extensive economic interests in the defense production, construction, and oil industries, controlling billions of dollars of business. The profits from these activities are available to support the full range of the IRGC’s illicit activities, including WMD proliferation and support for terrorism.
The US has previously acted against the IRGC and the Qods Force for their involvement in proliferation and terrorism support activities. Qods Force was labeled a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity in October 2007. Brigadier General Ahmad Foruzandeh, the former Qods Force commander and current commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps; Brigadier General Qassem Suleimani; the commander of Qods Force; and Abdul Reza Shahlai, a deputy Qods Force commander, among others, have been designated under Executive Order 13382 for their involvement in terrorist activities in Iraq.
Elements of the IRGC have also been designated for UN sanctions pursuant to UN Security Council Resolutions 1737 and 1747. The European Union has also designated IRGC-affiliated companies, including Khatam al Anbiya, for their support of Iranian ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
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I also wrote an article on this topic. It will be interesting to see if China and Russia play along with UNSC sanctions.
There is an inherent danger in confusing activity with accomplishment. Shell companies and front corporations are essentially infinite. I fear this is an exercise in futility that U.S. politicians will use to “prove” they are taking action against Iranian aggression.