WASHINGTON – The US Treasury Department on Tuesday slapped sanctions on anIranian paramilitary group along with a network of businesses that wereproviding it financing, as part of Washington´s campaign of maximumeconomic pressure against Tehran.
In announcing the sanctions, Treasury said a network of more than 20businesses known as the Bonyad Taavon Basij was financing the BasijResistance Force, a component of Iran´s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps(IRGC).
It also accused the militia of sending child soldiers to Syria in supportof President Bashar al-Assad´s regime.
“The international community must understand that business entanglementswith the Bonyad Taavon Basij network and IRGC front companies have realworld humanitarian consequences,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
The Basij, a paramilitary force formed soon after the 1979 revolution, isone of the Iranian regime´s primary enforcers of internal security withbranches in every province and city of Iran, according to the US Treasury.
“In addition to its involvement in violent crackdowns and serious humanrights abuses in Iran, the Basij recruits and trains fighters … includingIranian children, who then deploy to Syria to support the brutal Assadregime,” it said.
It added that in addition to Iranians, the militia recruited Afghanimmigrants to Iran through coercion, some of whom had fled to Europe as aresult, as well as Pakistani nationals.
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“Children recruited by Basij have tragically fought and died on thebattleground in Syria,” a senior administration official told AFP.
The Bonyad Taavon Basij is said to provide the Basij militia social welfareservices, including housing and financial support, and manages economicactivities by funding small companies.
“Bonyad Taavon Basij has expanded its reach into Iran´s economy byestablishing several investment firms through its financial and investmentoffshoot Mehr Eqtesad Bank,” the Treasury statement said.
Among the other companies singled out was Iran Tractor ManufacturingCompany (ITMC), the largest tractor manufacturer in the Middle East andNorth Africa which predates the Iranian revolution, that generates millionsof dollars in profit for the investment firms that represent the Basij.
Also targeted was Iran´s Zinc Mines Development Company, described as thecountry´s “preeminent, multibillion-dollar zinc and lead mining andprocessing holding company.” – APP/AFP
