Iran: Canada imposes new sanctions

Canada’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Wednesday that it had imposed new sanctions on Iran, targeting individuals suspected of human rights abuses and a company that Canada accused of supplying Russia with drones for use in Ukraine. Stated.

This is the fifth package of sanctions Canada has implemented against Iran this year. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the targets are six of his individuals and two of his entities, Shahed Aviation Industries and Qods Aviation Industries.

According to the ministry, Shahed Aviation manufactures drones used by the Russian military to attack Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure, while Qods Aviation manufactures drones for the Iranian military and militant groups such as Hezbollah. is developing a drone that will be exported to Russia for use in

“Canada will not hesitate to use all diplomatic tools at its disposal to respond to the aggression of the Iranian regime, whether inside or outside Iran,” Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie said in a statement.

The United States on Tuesday imposed sanctions on individuals and companies, including Shahed Aviation, for their involvement in manufacturing or transferring Iranian-made drones used by Russia in Ukraine.

Tehran acknowledged for the first time this month that it had supplied drones to Moscow, but said they had been sent to Ukraine before the war.

Wednesday’s sanctions also target officials who accused Canada of participating in the suppression of protesters in Iran, the foreign ministry said.

Canada has imposed a series of sanctions against Iran over alleged human rights violations, including the death of Masa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian Kurdish woman held in Iran’s moral police custody.

Iran, which said Amini died from a chronic illness, has accused the West of trying to use protests over her case to destabilize clerical rule since the 1979 Islamic revolution. ing.

(Reporting by Chris Gallagher, Washington; Editing by Philippa Fletcher)