The Bush administration banned five Iranian entities from dealing with the United States.
The five, suspected of arms proliferation, were added to a list of banned people and organizations.
A Treasury Department statement published Tuesday named the five as the Nuclear Research Center for Agriculture and Medicine, also known as the Karaj Nuclear Research Center; the Esfahan Nuclear Fuel Research and Production Center, or NFRPC; Jabber Ibn Hayan; the Safety Equipment Procurement Company, or SEP Co.; and the Joza Industrial Company.
The designations “prohibit all transactions between the designees and any U.S. person, and freeze any assets the designees may have under U.S. jurisdiction.” The five also have been subject to sanctions by the United Nations.
“Responsible financial institutions and businesses worldwide are taking steps to avoid doing business with Iranian nuclear and missile entities, as well as with the front companies and cut-outs the Iranian regime uses to disguise its activities,” Stuart Levey, the Treasury’s under secretary for terrorism, said in the statement. “These five nuclear and missile entities have been used by Iran to hide its illicit conduct and further its dangerous nuclear ambitions.”
