Ukrainian companies have been hit by US sanctions due to their ties to Iran.

The United States imposed sanctions on two Ukrainian companies, considering them to be front companies for an Iranian agent engaged in procurement for the Iranian state corporation HESA, which produces, among other things, Shahed drones.

Two companies registered in Ukraine have been subject to US sanctions related to Iran , according to a statement from the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

The companies in question are Imperative Ukraine Group LLC and Ecofera LLC. According to OFAC, they are front companies for Iranian procurement agent Bahram Tabibi, who used them to purchase and supply aerospace materials, including attitude indicators and magnetometers, for Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries Corporation (HESA), the state-owned Iranian aircraft manufacturer. Hesa, among other companies, produces the Shahed drones.

The Iranian company Batoul Shafiei also participated in the scheme, "facilitating payments" from HESA to Ukrainian companies, as well as shipments destined for the company from Ecofera. According to OFAC, Saeed Pahlavani Nejad served as an intermediary between the Ukrainian entities and HESA, facilitating the sale of alternator components, motors, orientation indicators, sensors, and other equipment.

In total, 32 individuals and entities from Iran, the UAE, Turkey, China , Hong Kong, India, Germany, and Ukraine were subject to US sanctions. The Treasury Department  explains the restrictions as an attempt to prevent Iran from purchasing components to restore its nuclear program. 

In June, a 12-day war broke out between Israel and Iran. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attributed the decision to launch the strikes to Tehran's proximity to developing nuclear weapons. The United States joined the conflict, striking major Iranian nuclear facilities in Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz.

Although US President Donald Trump claimed to have destroyed Iran's nuclear program, Tehran was voicing the possibility of resuming it. The IAEA announced it was unable to trace 400 kg of 60%-enriched uranium. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later announced that they were buried under the rubble of Iranian nuclear facilities.

In July, the US imposed the largest sanctions on Iran in seven years. Trump suggested lifting them if Tehran agreed to a deal limiting its nuclear program. The US, through Oman, conveyed to Iran an offer to resume negotiations on this issue. Araghchi stated that Tehran could consider Washington's "reasonable, balanced, and fair proposal" for nuclear talks, but had no intention of abandoning uranium enrichment.

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