The US has imposed sanctions on six people and three companies it says have ties to Iran’s elite military force, the Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the penalties targeted those who had funnelled millions of dollars to the group, funding its “malign activity”.
Iran’s central bank helped the IRGC to access US dollars via “a large-scale currency exchange network,” he said.
The Treasury Department said all six individuals were Iranian.
US individuals and entities will be barred from doing business with them
following the move, which was carried out in conjunction with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
“The Iranian regime and its central bank have abused access to entities in the UAE to acquire US dollars to fund the (IRGC’s) malign activities, including to fund and arm its regional proxy groups,” Mr Mnuchin said in a statement.
“We are intent on cutting off IRGC revenue streams wherever their source and whatever their destination,” he added.
Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979, when the monarchy was overthrown and clerics assumed political control under supreme leader Ayatollah Khomeini.
Mr Khomeini quickly set up the IRGC to protect the state and defend the principles of his revolution.
It has since grown into a major military, political and economic force in the country. With thousands of troops and advanced military equipment, the Guards have been behind many of Iran’s key military operations.
