While much of the recent news has been about Russian additions to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, Iran is now in the news for two recent incidents.

On September 9th, 2022, the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated the Iranian Intelligence Ministry and Security (MOIS) for cyberattacks against Albania, the U.S., and its allies.

Esmail Khatib is the leader of MOIS and directs several cyber networks that have conducted malicious cyber activity affecting the Albanian government websites, leaking personal information of Albanian government officials and other residents. Other related groups have targeted the Turkish government through phishing e-mails and malware. MOIS has been monitoring Iranian citizens, dissidents, journalists, and at least 15 U.S. companies. These activities pose a threat to U.S. National Security.

Esmail Khatib is designated under the authority of OFAC as a Specially Designated National. Therefore, his property and interests subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and any U.S. person engaging in transactions with MOIS and any entities owned 50% or more by designated persons are also blocked.

In a separate case, a resident of the United Arab Emirates and Germany, Mehrdad Ansari, was convicted of attempting to transship "dual-use" testing equipment to Iran in violation of the trade embargo. Ansari's 6th amendment appeal, the right to a speedy trial, was rejected. Ansari was convicted to 63 months in prison in September of 2021. Two co-defendants were named, one a Taiwan citizen, Susan Yip, and an Iranian citizen Mehrdad Foomanie who allegedly helped obtain over $2.6 million dollars of parts and testing equipment shipped to Iran.

As you can see, it is important to know who we are or may be doing business with, not just the company names but also the individuals involved in the transactions, to avoid sanctions and penalties.

When vetting companies through our restricted parties database, please include the names of individual contacts, company names, and addresses.

Thank you for your continued attention and diligence in ensuring we are shipping legally and ensuring you know who you are shipping to and the end-users of the products.