The decades-long struggle of the United States to effectively deal with the behavior of Iran's theocracy and bring it into the liberal “rules-based order” the West has established and grown since WWII, has been put to another test by Iran's actions supplying critically-needed technology to the Russian war against Ukraine.
Last month, the U.S. Treasury Department filed yet another set of sanctions against the mullah's regime, dealing specifically with Tehran providing drone “servomotors” that have ended up in Donbass, used by Kremlin-aligned forces on the ground.
“Iranian-made UAVs continue to be a key tool for Russia in its attacks in Ukraine, including those that terrorize Ukrainian citizens and attack its critical infrastructure,” Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement.
The Treasury Department specifically named Iran's Pishgam Electronic Safeh Company and its chief executive Hamid Reza Janghorbani.
Iran's actions in the Middle East have long been destabilizing. From financing and supporting terror networks, maintaining proxy militia in the region, trafficking weapons or partnering with Russia in Syria and conducting aggressive actions against other nations, the West has yet to find the magic bullet to contain the consequences of Tehran's behavior.
The problem is magnified when other nations in the region add gas to the fire and enable Iran's nefarious actions including most recently the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to the U.S. government.
Iran’s leaders and its IRGC are masters at working with other governments adversarial to the U.S. to spread weapons technology and military capability to the hands of those who will use it against America and her allies.
Tehran has focused on stealing Western technology and armaments designs since the Iran-Iraq War in the early 1980s. These relatively cheap weapons give Tehran an asymmetric warfare capability against the more powerful American military and those nations she trains and supports.
Drones are cheap to produce, and deadly effective.
A stunning example of the danger of these technologies is the recent shooting down by an American combat aircraft of a Turkish drone over U.S. troops operating in Syria.
The drone tried to fly over the U.S. Tel Baydar base, and was destroyed by a U.S. Air Force F-16 near al-Hasakah, in northern Syria. Two U.S. officials told The Associated Press the drone was armed.
A U.S. official also said the shoot-down was ordered after more than a dozen calls to Turkish military officials, stating U.S. forces were on the ground in the area and the U.S. military would engage in self-defense if the drone didn’t leave the area, added AP.
Tehran has shipped technology to and from Turkey, the UAE and China and others to be used in Ukraine and against American troops operating in the Middle East.
The Treasury Department also leveled sanctions on UAE-based Farhad Ghaedi Goods Wholesalers LLC, accusing it of facilitating the shipment of servomotors via Dubai for delivery to PESC in Iran, added Reuters.
Among the sanctions' consequences, all property of the targets that fall under U.S. jurisdiction must be blocked and reported to the Treasury.
It is startling that nations such as the UAE and Turkey would allow this activity to take place, in full view of the U.S. and other American allies.
Turkey being a NATO member and the UAE being a garrison for a significant number of U.S. forces highlights the inconsistency of their actions.
The UAE in particular seems to be attempting to straddle the fence between supporting American interests in the Middle East and allowing Iran, Russia, and others to skirt sanctions, avoid sanctions, and develop deadly weapons and combat capabilities.
Washington has called out the Gulf nation for “poor” sanction compliance.
This newest sanction development by the U.S. Treasury comes at a time when the BRICS nations are actively working to reduce dependence on the U.S. dollar and harming America's economy. The UAE is a recent member of the BRICS alliance.
Eroding America's financial power can only build up forces around the world that will make it a much more dangerous place.
At some point, the Emirati monarchy will have to choose sides.