The United States has imposed sanctions on eleven companies or individuals from China, North Korea or the United Arab Emirates for transferring technology to Iran that it claimed could boost the country’s ballistic missile program.

The US State Department said on Friday nineteen more firms or individuals were sanctioned for other violations under the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act (INKSNA), which Washington uses to slap sanctions on foreign individuals, private entities, and governments accused of being involved in proliferation activities.

The sanctions will be  effective for two years and do not apply to these individuals and entities’ respective countries or governments, the department explained.

According to the statement, the eleven entities sanctioned under the INKSNA for transfers to Iran’s missile program are:

This comes a day after a bipartisan group of US senators in Congress introduced a bill that would impose tighter sanctions against Iran over its ballistic missile tests and other non-nuclear activities.

The bill was introduced on Thursday by 14 Democratic and Republican senators, including senior members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The legislation would set mandatory sanctions for anyone involved with Iran’s missile program and those who trade with them. It would also apply sanctions to the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

Source: Press TV