News - Middle East: The United States has imposed sanctions on an alleged China-based network over, claiming it is helping Iran procure unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) slapped the sanctions on Thursday against "a network of five companies and one individual for supporting Iran’s UAV procurement efforts," the Treasury said in a statement.

The network "is responsible for the sale and shipment of thousands of aerospace components, including components that can be used for UAV applications," it added.

In July 2021, The Wall Street Journal reported that the US was planning a sanctions campaign against Iran’s defensive drones and guided missiles program, six months after the administration of President Joe Biden was sworn in.

Citing unnamed US officials, the daily said at the time that the sanctions were aimed at disrupting the development of Iran’s weapons program, which, the Islamic Republic has invariably defined as a purely defensive program that does not pose any threat to any foreign country.

Washington targeted Iran's UAV industry last time in January, imposing sanctions against an Iranian drone manufacturer under the unsubstantiated and disproven pretext that the Islamic Republic had provided Russia with the UAVs to be used by Moscow against Ukraine.