US imposes sanctions on 13 tied to Iran weapons procurement

(Adds State Department sanctions) By Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON, Sept 29 - The US government ​announced fresh sanctions on Tuesday against 13 individuals ​and entities, including some based in Russia, ‌China, ​Hong Kong and Pakistan, saying they helped Iran procure weapons and components. The sanctions announced by the Treasury and State departments are part of the Trump ‌administration's effort to isolate Iran economically and force it to negotiate an end to the war that began with a US-Israeli strike on Iran on February 28.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, “Treasury will not tolerate any support to the regime and ‌will continue to identify, expose, and isolate Iran’s enablers.” Treasury said the sanctions were aimed at degrading Tehran's ability ‌to reconstitute its weapons programs, while increasing the costs for those who supported its procurement efforts.

Those targeted in Tuesday's sanctions announcements include: Brett Erickson, managing ⁠principal with Obsidian Risk Advisors, said the latest sanctions action would do little to impede Iran's ability to launch ⁠missiles and drones in ⁠the Strait of Hormuz. "This is optics management for the Trump administration to claim 'We're hammering them,' when the reality is we're poking them with a toothpick," he said.