US issues Iran-Venezuela sanctions over alleged drone trade as tensions escalate

Washington [US], December 31: The United States has issued sanctions against a Venezuelan company over accusations that it helped acquire Iranian-designed drones as Washington's tensions with both Tehran and Caracas escalate.
The penalties on Tuesday targeted Empresa Aeronautica Nacional SA (EANSA), a Venezuelan firm that the US Department of the Treasury said "maintains and oversees the assembly of" drones from Iran's Qods Aviation Industries, which is already under sanctions by Washington. The department also sanctioned the company's chairman, Jose Jesus Urdaneta Gonzalez, accusing him of coordinating "with members and representatives of the Venezuelan and Iranian armed forces on the production of UAVs [unmanned aerial vehicles] in Venezuela".
"Treasury is holding Iran and Venezuela accountable for their aggressive and reckless proliferation of deadly weapons around the world," Treasury official John Hurley said in a statement.
"We will continue to take swift action to deprive those who enable Iran's military-industrial complex access to the US financial system," he said. (Agencies)
Source: Qatar Tribune