WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Treasury Department unleashed a sweeping barrage of sanctions and national security actions at the close of 2025 and into the New Year, targeting Iran’s weapons networks, Venezuela’s oil lifelines, and a foreign-backed semiconductor deal deemed a threat to U.S. security.
In coordinated moves announced by the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, U.S. officials sanctioned individuals, companies, and vessels tied to Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicle and missile programs, Venezuela’s sanctioned oil trade, and foreign access to sensitive American chip technology.
Treasury officials said the actions are designed to choke off revenue streams fueling hostile regimes and to block foreign adversaries from exploiting U.S. technology, farmland, shipping lanes, and financial systems.
On December 30, OFAC designated 10 individuals and entities based in Venezuela and Iran for their roles in facilitating Iran’s drone trade with Caracas. Among those targeted was Venezuela-based Empresa Aeronautica Nacional SA, known as EANSA, which maintains and assembles Iranian-designed Mohajer-series drones for the Venezuelan military. Those aircraft, rebranded locally as ANSU-series UAVs, include armed platforms capable of launching Iranian-made guided munitions.
Treasury officials said the drones pose a direct threat to U.S. and allied forces, destabilize commercial shipping routes, and extend Iran’s military reach into the Western Hemisphere. EANSA’s chair, Jose Jesus Urdaneta Gonzalez, was also sanctioned for coordinating drone production with Iranian and Venezuelan military officials.
The same action targeted Iranian procurement agents accused of sourcing key chemicals used in ballistic missile production, including materials critical to solid-fuel rocket motors. OFAC said those efforts supported Parchin Chemical Industries, an arm of Iran’s Defense Industries Organization already under U.N. and U.S. sanctions.
Treasury also expanded sanctions against Iran’s high-tech defense sector, designating additional companies and executives tied to the Rayan Fan Group, a conglomerate linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ drone and aerospace programs.
One day later, on December 31, OFAC turned its attention to Venezuela’s oil trade, sanctioning four companies operating in the country’s energy sector and blocking four oil tankers accused of transporting Venezuelan crude in violation of U.S. sanctions. Treasury officials said the vessels were part of a shadow fleet used to generate revenue for President Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration would not allow Venezuela’s current government to profit from oil exports while contributing to drug trafficking and regional instability. The sanctions block all U.S.-linked property and transactions tied to the designated companies and ships and expose foreign financial institutions to secondary sanctions if they facilitate the trade.
The crackdown continued into the new year. On January 2, President Trump ordered the divestment of key assets of EMCORE Corporation by HieFo Corporation, a foreign-owned firm, after a national security review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States. The order forces HieFo to relinquish control of EMCORE’s digital chip and semiconductor manufacturing business.
CFIUS determined the transaction posed risks involving access to sensitive intellectual property and the potential diversion of indium phosphide chip supplies away from the United States. Officials noted the deal was not voluntarily filed for review and was uncovered through enhanced monitoring of non-notified transactions.
Treasury officials said the actions underscore a broader strategy to confront hostile regimes on multiple fronts, from weapons proliferation and sanctions evasion to foreign control of critical technologies. They emphasized that all blocked property must be reported to OFAC and warned that violations could trigger severe civil or criminal penalties.
The department said sanctions are intended not only to punish but to force changes in behavior, signaling that entities enabling Iran’s military ambitions or propping up Venezuela’s sanctioned economy will face escalating consequences.
For the latest news on everything happening in Chester County and the surrounding area, be sure to follow MyChesCo on Google News and MSN.