World

The US added a series of Chinese entities to the sanctions list for allegedly supplying UAV components and helping Iran evade sanctions.
The United States on March 9 announced sanctions on a network based in China, accused of supplying components for Iran to manufacture unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and sell them to Russia, the South China Morning Post reported on March 10 . .
Specifically, according to the US Department of Finance, the subject of this embargo includes 1 individual and 5 companies based in China, including Hong Kong. They are accused of selling and transporting thousands of aerospace components to Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industry Company.
According to the US Treasury Department, it was the Iranian Aircraft Manufacturing Industry Company that produced the Shahed-136 UAV that Iran allegedly used to attack an Israeli oil tanker last year. The company is also accused of exporting UAVs to Russia to attack across Ukraine.
"Iran is directly involved in civilian casualties in Ukraine as a result of Russia's use of Iranian drones in Ukraine," said Brian Nelson, the undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
The administration of President Joe Biden has stepped up its warning that it will not hesitate to take action against Chinese companies or individuals if they violate US sanctions or assist Russia in Ukraine.
The US Treasury Department on March 9 also named 17 Hong Kong-based companies as part of a "significant shadow banking network", bringing the number of entities subject to the sanctions in this round to 39. According to the Treasury Department In the United States, these companies have transferred billions of dollars to the Iranian regime and helped the country evade sanctions, Bloomberg news agency reported.
Of the 17 Hong Kong companies, 13 are so-called "fronts" and are accused of transferring tens of millions of dollars in connection with the sale of Iranian petrochemicals to China between 2021 and 2022.
Last week, the US State Department also designated two China-based companies as "Iran sanctions evaders" after Beijing and Tehran relations were said to be stronger following a visit to China by Mr. Iranian President EbrahimRaisi in mid-February.
China and Iran did not immediately comment on the new US move.
US and European Union (EU) officials admitted last week that there was no evidence that China was supplying arms to Russia.
Earlier, on March 7, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang stressed that the country "does not supply weapons to any side in the conflict in Ukraine". He also accused the US of causing a series of global problems and said there appeared to be an "invisible hand" that was driving the crisis in Ukraine to escalate, according to The Guardian .
Iran has also repeatedly denied accusations of selling weapons for Russia's military campaign in Ukraine. In November 2022, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said Iran did provide Russia with UAVs, but confirmed the delivery took place before Russia launched its operation in Ukraine, according to AP.
Source: ThanhNien Newspaper