The United Nations sanctions committee has added two more Iranian citizens and a company for attempting to circumvent UN sanctions in 2010 by shipping arms to Nigeria.
The two individuals and the company are reportedly linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps.
The U.S. envoy to the UN said on Friday: “The individuals listed today helped plan a weapons shipment — intercepted by Nigeria in 2010 — in violation of existing UN sanctions.”
Susan Rice added: “Both individuals and this company are tied to the Qods Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the group that directs Iranian support for terrorism and extremism worldwide.”
The UN announcement names the two individuals as Azim Aghajani and Akbar Tabatabaei and the firm as the Behineh Trading Co., which is described by the UN committee as “one of two Iranian companies that played key roles in Iran’s illicit transfer of arms to West Africa and acted on behalf of the IRGC Qods Force as the shipper of the weapons consignment."
The individuals will face visa and travel restrictions and their assets will be frozen.
