OFAC is also designating Saeed Aghajani, the commander of the IRGC Aerospace Force (IRGC ASF) UAV Command. The IRGC-QF has used and proliferated lethal UAVs for use by Iran-supported groups, including Hizballah, HAMAS, Kata’ib Hizballah, and the Houthis, and to Ethiopia, where the escalating crisis threatens to destabilize the broader region. Lethal UAVs have been used in attacks on international shipping and on U.S. forces. IRGC Brigadier General Saeed Aghajani, who oversees the IRGC ASF UAV Command, directs the planning, equipment, and training for IRGC ASF UAV operations. Under his leadership, the IRGC ASF UAV Command orchestrated the July 29, 2021 attack on the commercial shipping vessel Mercer Street off the coast of Oman, which resulted in the deaths of two crewmen. Aghajani also was behind a UAV attack against a Saudi Arabian oil refinery in 2019.
Iranian forces have been responsible for several high-profile attacks against international shipping over the last few years, including two prior incidents this year alone. In 2019, Iranian strikes targeting six tankers were widely condemned, including an operation orchestrated by the IRGC in May 2019 that resulted in damage to Saudi, Emirati, and Norwegian vessels.
Aghajani is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having acted for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, the IRGC ASF.
On August 16, 2010, OFAC issued the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 561 (75 FR 49836, August 16, 2010) (IFSR) to implement provisions of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111–195) (22 U.S.C. 8501–8551). Since then, OFAC has amended the IFSR several times.
