The Group of 7 nations and EU said they are preparing new sanctions in response to recent Iranian weapons transfers to Russia, following a similar statement by the Council of the European Union one day earlier (see 2409130036).

The U.S. this week sanctioned five people and one entity with ties to the Intellexa Consortium, a web of companies that builds and uses spyware products. The designations target Felix Bitzios, Andrea Nicola Constantino Hermes Gambazzi, Merom Harpaz, Panagiota Karaoli and Artemis Artemiou, who have ties to companies that are part of the consortium, and Aliada Group, a British Virgin Islands-based company and member of the consortium. The U.S. has previously sanctioned people and entities with ties to the group, which develops commercial spyware known as Predator that’s used to target government officials, journalists and others (see 2403050020).

Australia announced new sanctions this week against five senior Iranian security and law enforcement officials involved in the “violent repression” of protests in Iran, Australia’s foreign affairs ministry said. The designations mark the second anniversary of the arrest and subsequent death of Mahsa Jina Amini, who was accused of not correctly wearing a hijab. Australia said it has now sanctioned 195 Iran-linked people and entities, including almost 100 linked to the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The EU last week said it will impose new sanctions in response to a recent transfer of Iranian missiles to Russia, saying the transfer was a “direct threat to European security” and is a “substantive material escalation from” previous shipments of Iranian drones and ammunition to Russia since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

A new final rule released last week by the Office of Foreign Assets Control will clarify the agency’s process for issuing certain blocked property orders or orders that impose “less than full blocking” restrictions. The rule, effective Sept. 17, describes the three types of actions OFAC may take with respect to property or interests in property, the “forms of notice” that OFAC may use, and how parties affected by blocked property orders can contact the agency with “inquiries.” The agency said those affected by sanctions “should have an opportunity to understand the nature of OFAC’s action and its impact on their property or interests in property.” The rule also makes other minor revisions and clarifications to its sanctions regulations.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week issued a reminder to industry to file annual reports on blocked property by Sept. 30. Holders of blocked property must provide the agency "with a comprehensive list of all blocked property held as of June 30 of the current year by September 30," OFAC said.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control last week added two Russian nationals and three Russian entities to its Specially Designated Nationals List and issued a new general license.

The Treasury Department this week sanctioned 16 Venezuelan officials that it said have ties to the Nicolas Maduro regime and who obstructed the country’s recent presidential elections (see 2407290044). The designated officials include leaders of the Maduro-aligned National Electoral Council and the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, which Treasury said “impeded a transparent electoral process and the release of accurate election results,” along with military, intelligence and government officials “responsible for intensifying repression through intimidation, indiscriminate detentions, and censorship.” The Biden administration will “continue to use our tools to hold Maduro and his cronies accountable and support the democratic aspirations of the Venezuelan people,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said.

The Biden administration is “developing additional potential sanctions” that it could impose on leaders of Sudan’s two warring parties if they continue to resist participating in peace talks, a State Department official said Sept. 11.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Cambodian businessman Ly Yong Phat, his company L.Y.P. Group Co., LTD, and the O‑Smach Resort for their ties to serious human rights abuses, including forced labor. The agency also designated Cambodia-based Garden City Hotel, Koh Kong Resort and Phnom Penh Hotel for being owned or controlled by Ly.