3 hours ago
47
The Treasury Department sanctioned Iranian auto and rail industries on Thursday, the latest salvo in its economic campaign against the Islamic Republic.
The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the entirety of those industries — going after automobile, train and manufacturing companies — which the administration views as critical sources of funding for the regime, the department noted in a release.
The OFAC’s actions are part of a broader crackdown on Iranian transportation. Last month, the Treasury sanctioned all of Iran’s airlines.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday his department’s financial warfare campaign against Iran — which he dubbed “Operation Economic Outcast” — has “severely diminished” the regime’s “ability to fund its war machine and inflict terror” via its own military, as well as through regional proxies.
“Today’s action directly targets Iran’s enablers and lays the groundwork for the United States and our partners to drain the regime’s revenue once and for all,” Bessent said in the release.
The Iranian auto sector, the Treasury noted, is an “essential component” of the country’s defense industrial base.
Iran’s domestic auto industry is dominated by two firms, Iran Khodro Company and SAIPA Iranian Automobile Manufacturing Company, which control more than 90 percent of the market.
The Treasury honed on in Iran Khodro Diesel and SAIPA, along with two of its subsidiaries, for its latest sanctions. The companies manufacture buses, trucks and diesel engines, passenger cars, commercial cars and motorcycles.
As for the Iranian rail sector, which the administration says the regime has used to transport oil amid the American naval blockade of its ports, the Treasury is targeting two state-owned firms: Islamic Republic of Iran Railway Company and the Raja Passenger Trains Company.
Bessent has targeted a swath of Iranian industries as part of his economic campaign, urging other countries to cut off ties to Tehran to avoid the U.S. cutting them off from its dollar system.
The U.S. military campaign against Iran, which hit the seven-month mark this week, has marched on into October after President Trump rejected a short-term ceasefire proposal from Iranian officials.
The latest Treasury actions also crack down on foreign companies supplying auto and truck parts to the Middle Eastern country.
Those firms include the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based Integrated Auto Parts and the Turkey-based Troy Trading Arac Parcalari Sanayi Ve Ticaret.
While the administration has worked with European allies on choking Iran economically, it has also sought assistance from Gulf states — including the UAE.
English (US) ·