US Government Puts Out $15 Million Bounty On Iranian Drone Middleman
Jose Nino
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The US government recently announced that it would pay up to $15 million for any on Hossein Hatefi Ardakani, an Iranian businessman who is alleged to have assisted in the procurement of technology used for attack drones sold to Russia.
This decision to place a bounty for information on an export control violation came after the US charged and sanctioned Ardakani over his alleged endeavors where he sourced dual-use technology for drone production by the Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The Commerce Department, which oversees US export controls, announced the bounty on January 24, 2024.
US authorities claim Iran has supplied several kinds of drones that Russia has used in its invasion of Ukraine. This conflict, in addition to the rise of China, has prompted the Biden regime to rapidly expand the US’s export-control measures.
A State Department program designed to tackle national security threats put forward the information on Ardakani and his business network comes from a State Department program that was set up to help combat national security threats. Per charges filed in 2020 and unsealed in December, Ardakani worked with a China-based individual to use front companies as vehicles to buy components that would end being used for in Iranian drones.
The Treasury Department initially imposed sanctions on Ardakani and connected companies back in December, claiming he operated a transnational procurement network that has gotten its hands on hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of servomotors, inertial navigation equipment, and other technology that can be used for drone purposes. Several components of US origin secured by Ardakani’s network have been discovered in the wreckage of Iranian drones in Ukraine and other locations, the State Department stated.
A warrant was issued for Ardakani’s arrest with respect to his 2020 indictment. At the time, prosecutors asserted that Ardakani was suspected to have been living abroad. In a recent notice, the State Department listed Tehran as one of the locations he spent a significant amount of time in.
The State Department announced that it is accepting tips through Signal, Telegram, WhatsApp and Tor, in addition to traditional channels.
The US is starting to witness firsthand the many issues that come with a multipolar environment. It can no longer throw its weight around against state and non-state actors. Will US policymakers ever come to their senses and adapt to these new realities by scaling back US foreign policy ambitions?
That is still up in the air.
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