US targeting Iran’s Shahid Meisami Group

Ali Rajab

The United States has imposed sanctions on a new group of Iranian entities, including the Shahid Meisami Group, an affiliate of the Iranian Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research.

The US Department of the Treasury issued a statement on December 3, in which it announced the new sanctions against the group and its director Mehran Babri for involvement in the Iranian nuclear program.

Secretary of the Treasury Steven Terner Mnuchin said the production of weapons of mass destruction in Iran poses threats to the Islamic Republic’s neighboring countries.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, meanwhile, issued a statement in which he expressed his country’s concern over Iranian research and production of chemical materials with dual use.

US Special Envoy for Iran and Venezuela, Elliot Abrams, said last week that the US would tighten its sanctions on Iran during the last weeks of outgoing President Donald Trump’s term.

He called on president-elect Joe Biden to use the Iran sanctions as a pressure tool against the Islamic Republic to the fullest.

Group

The Shahid Meisami Group is an affiliate of the Iranian Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research. Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh used to run the group before his assassination a few days ago.

The group is responsible for a number of projects where Iran invests millions of dollars.

In 2014, the administration of former US President Barack Obama said the group was responsible for research in the field of nuclear science. It also accused Fakhrizadeh of managing Iran’s unannounced nuclear activities.