US designates 20 individuals, entities on Iran

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - The U.S. designated 20 individuals and entities Thursday for providing support to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) to violate Iraq's sovereignty and exploit its economy.

"Some of these people help provide the financial support that enables the IRGC-QF to transfer lethal aid to Iranian-backed terrorist groups such as Kata’ib Hizballah (KH) and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH), and engage in other malign activities that undermine the Iraqi government’s efforts toward energy independence," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.

The designations also includes entities and individuals that exploit Iraq's dependence on Iranian electricity imports for the benefit of the IRGC-QF.

Iraq is allowed to engage in financial transactions related to the import of electricity from Iran, through a U.S.-issued sanctions waiver.

"Today’s designations underscore that the United States will not tolerate profiteering by malign Iranian actors from transactions that take place under the sanctions waiver, and we will remain focused on sanctioning those who do so for the benefit of the IRGC-QF or other designated terrorist groups," said Ortagus.

Among listed companies are the Reconstruction Organization of the Holy Shrines in Iraq (ROHSI), an IRGC-QF-controlled organization based in Iran and the Iraq-based Bahjat al Kawthar Company for Construction and Trading Ltd, also known as the Kosar Company.

"The United States engages regularly with the Iraqi government on energy security, and we support measures that reduce Iraq’s energy dependence on Iran," read the statement.