Rubio: We imposed sanctions on 4 entities including Chinese ones for assisting Iran

SadaNews - The U.S. Department of State announced today, Saturday, the imposition of sanctions on four entities, including those that provided satellite images that helped Iran conduct military strikes against American forces in the Middle East, according to a statement from the Department of State.

The U.S. State Department stated in its announcement that supplying Iran with satellite imagery of American installations in the Middle East threatens the safety of American individuals and U.S. partners. The United States will continue to take action to hold entities in China accountable for their support of Iran and to ensure that Iran cannot rebuild its sensitive programs related to military proliferation following "Epic Fury." The targeting of American forces and partners will not go unanswered.

At the same time, the U.S. Department of the Treasury is adding ten entities and individuals to the sanctions lists for enabling the Iranian military's efforts to acquire weapons, as well as raw materials used in Iranian drone and ballistic missile programs.

The statement noted that the United States, in accordance with Presidential National Security Memorandum No. 2, reaffirms its commitment to disrupting procurement efforts supporting Iranian military programs and will not hesitate to hold non-Iranian entities and individuals accountable who contribute to or support Tehran's proliferation programs, in defiance of U.N. decisions.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that Washington has imposed sanctions on Chinese entities that provided Iran with satellite images that supported its attacks against our forces in the Middle East, adding that the sanctions targeted Iran's overseas armament networks and international entities that supplied its military with raw materials for missile and drone programs.

He affirmed that America will use its unilateral sanctions to pursue any party that violates U.N. Security Council resolutions regarding Iran and will use all available tools to prevent Iran from rebuilding its sensitive programs related to nuclear proliferation.

The companies included in the sanctions decision are:

The "Mintrobi Technology Hangzhou Limited" company, known as "Mizar Vision," which the statement described as a geospatial intelligence company based in China that published open-source images showing American military activity during the "Epic Fury" operation.

The "Earth Eye" company is based in China and provided Iran with satellite images during the "Epic Fury" operation.

The "Chang Guang Satellite Technology Limited" company is a commercial satellite company based in China that collected satellite images of U.S. military facilities and facilities belonging to U.S. allies, supporting Iranian imaging requests during the "Epic Fury" operation. The company had previously provided the Houthis, classified by the U.S., with satellite images to target American military assets.

The fourth entity is the "Defense Ministry Export Center" known as "Mindex," which is the export arm of the Iranian Ministry of Defense and classified by the U.S. as logistics for the Iranian armed forces. "Mindex" promotes Iranian defense equipment at international military exhibitions. "Mindex" is the new name for the body formerly known as "Modlex," classified by the U.S., which was known as the "Defense Ministry Logistics Exports."