The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it is sanctioning several foreign companies to target millions of dollars’ worth of “combat drones” being traded between Iran and Venezuela.
The development marks Washington’s latest effort to curb Iranian military capabilities amid concern the regime is rebuilding its nuclear weapons program. It also follows the Pentagon’s historic military buildup around Venezuela, as President Donald Trump has tentatively endorsed regime change in the country as part of his administration’s sweeping agenda to target lethal drugs flowing from the South American region into the United States.
“Treasury is holding Iran and Venezuela accountable for their aggressive and reckless proliferation of deadly weapons around the world,” Treasury Undersecretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John Hurley said in a statement. “We will continue to take swift action to deprive those who enable Iran’s military-industrial complex access to the U.S. financial system.”
The U.S. is sanctioning 10 entities and people based in the two countries, including the Venezuela-based Empresa Aeronáutica Nacional SA, which the Treasury Department said maintains unmanned aerial vehicles operated by the Venezuelan military, such as the Iranian Mohajer-2. EANSA collaborates with the Iran-based Qods Aviation Industries to assemble drones, according to officials. The Mohajer-6, which holds intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, is among the combat drones manufactured by QAI.
Among the people sanctioned by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is Venezuela-based Jose Jesus Urdaneta Gonzalez, chairman of EANSA.
Iran-based Mostafa Rostami Sani was sanctioned for efforts to procure chemicals used for ballistic missiles for Parchin Chemical Industries, which is tied to the Iranian government, according to the U.S. Several individuals connected to Rayan Fan Kav Andish Co, which was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2024 and is linked to the Iranian military, were also sanctioned. RFKA is a holding company for a variety of firms that operate in the field of high-technology systems and produce components for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’s UAV and aerospace programs, according to the Treasury Department.
Aside from discouraging foreign countries or individuals from dealing with the affected parties, the sanctions freeze any financial assets they own that are located in the U.S. or controlled by U.S. personnel. It also means U.S. citizens, companies, and banks are prohibited from conducting transactions with the sanctioned parties.
The sanctions targeting Iran’s weapons supply come as Trump has expressed concern that the country is rebuilding its nuclear program after the U.S. targeted its nuclear facilities with military strikes over the summer.
Earlier this week, Trump suggested the U.S. would not hesitate to carry out another round of strikes and “knock the hell out of them” if evidence confirms Iran is rebuilding the program.
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The U.S. has also ratcheted up pressure on Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro’s regime, leveraging accusations that drug cartels operating in his country are trafficking narcotics into the U.S. to justify over two dozen lethal attacks on boats suspected to be carrying “narco-terrorists.”
The CIA carried out a drone strike on a drug-linked port facility in Venezuela last week, according to reports, with Trump appearing to confirm the first land attack on a “big facility” in a radio interview over the weekend.
