OFAC lists Saudi, Turkish and UAE companies in two Iran actions within three days

The US Treasury designated companies in Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and the UAE in two Iran-related actions within three days. On 29 September the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) listed 10 individuals and entities that it says procured weapons and components for Iran's Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL), including a company in Riyadh and one in Istanbul, according to the Treasury release. On 1 October it targeted Iran's automotive, rail, manufacturing and steel sectors, naming a Turkish truck-parts supplier and three UAE companies, the second release shows. Both actions fall under Operation Economic Outcast, the campaign Secretary Scott Bessent announced on 24 August.

The Riyadh and Istanbul designations

OFAC's notice lists Cavalier Dynamics for Technologies Company at an address in Riyadh, with an establishment date of 3 March 2025, and Cavalier Dynamics Teknoloji Ticaret Anonim Sirketi in the Maslak district of Istanbul, established on 18 June 2025. Each entry carries a secondary sanctions notation. Both companies are linked to Waseem Pasha Tajammal, who the release says "serves as chairman of Cavalier Group", described as a privately owned defence company with locations in Pakistan and internationally. Treasury says Tajammal and the group "act as third-party intermediaries for Iran's MODAFL". OFAC also designated Cavalier Dynamics Private Limited, in Islamabad.

The release says Tajammal is the director and sole shareholder of the Turkish company, and that the Saudi company is wholly owned by the Pakistani parent, with Tajammal as director. It says OFAC acted against the Saudi company "in coordination with Saudi government partners". The designations rest on ownership or control by Tajammal, according to the release, which cites Executive Order 13382, the authority aimed at proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, for all 10 designations.

The other designees on 29 September are in Iran, China, Hong Kong and Pakistan, according to the release. It describes MODAFL as responsible for weapons research, production and acquisition for Iran's armed forces, and says Iran-based Kavoshcom Asia R and D Group procured electronics for HESA, a MODAFL subordinate that develops unmanned aerial vehicles and military aircraft, and supplied electronics to Shahid Bakeri Industrial Group, which it describes as responsible for Iran's solid-fuelled ballistic missile programme.

Cars, rail and steel

In the 1 October action OFAC used Executive Order 13902 for the automotive, rail, manufacturing and financial sectors and Executive Order 13871 for steel and metals designations, according to the release. The Turkish designee is Troy Trading Arac Parcalari Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, which the notice places in Avcilar, Istanbul. The release says it sent truck parts to Bahman Diesel Co., a subsidiary of the sanctioned Iranian automaker Bahman Group. The three UAE designees are:

• Integrated Auto Parts LLC, Dubai, which the release says facilitated multiple auto parts shipments via the UAE to Iran, including parts transshipped from companies in Türkiye and India.
• Silver Line Metal Trading LLC, Dubai, which it says sells stainless steel products to Iranian steel producers.
• Traco International FZE, Ras Al Khaimah, which the release says received payments from the Iranian producer Khouzestan Steel Company, remitted through Iranian exchange houses as part of its international trade.

The action also covered seven Hong Kong companies and entities in China, Indonesia and Germany, OFAC's list shows. Treasury issued sector determinations for Iran's automotive and rail industries that, the release says, allow OFAC to sanction any entity or individual operating in those sectors. It says Iran Khodro Company and SAIPA, both designated on 1 October, together produce nearly 1,500,000 vehicles a year and hold over 90 per cent of Iran's domestic auto market.

Exposure for non-US firms

Both releases carry the same warning, that engaging in certain transactions involving the designated persons "may risk the imposition of secondary sanctions on participating foreign financial institutions". Property of the designated persons in US jurisdiction is blocked, entities 50 per cent or more owned by them are also blocked, and OFAC may impose civil penalties on a strict liability basis, the 1 October release says. Bessent said on 29 September that "Treasury will not tolerate any support to the regime", and on 1 October that the action "directly targets Iran's enablers".