02 Oct 26
The US has widened its sanctions programme against Iran to additional industrial sectors, extending potential exposure to companies operating in or supplying the country’s automotive and rail industries.
The US Treasury said on 1 October that the Office of Foreign Assets Control issued new sectoral sanctions determinations covering Iran’s automotive and rail industries under Executive Order 13902. The determinations authorise OFAC to sanction entities and individuals operating in either sector.
The US Treasury said the measures include Iran Khodro Company and SAIPA Iranian Automobile Manufacturing Company, which together represent more than 90% of Iran’s domestic automotive market and produce nearly 1.5 million vehicles annually. Iran Khodro Diesel, Pars Khodro, Zamyad and two Niroo Motor companies were also designated.
The action extends outside Iran through sanctions against automotive-parts suppliers and intermediaries in Indonesia, the UAE, Türkiye and Hong Kong. Treasury said the companies had supplied parts to Iranian manufacturers or facilitated shipments supporting the country’s automotive industry.
Separate measures target the rail, manufacturing and metals sectors. The state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Railway Company and two other rail operators were designated, while Germany-based Tech-Trade International Impex GmbH was sanctioned over shipments of precursor materials to Iranian steel producer Mobarakeh Steel Company, according to Treasury.
The latest action forms part of the US government’s Operation Economic Outcast programme. Treasury said the new sectoral determinations broaden sanctions risk beyond the companies specifically designated, including potential exposure for foreign companies and financial institutions engaging in certain transactions involving sanctioned entities.
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