US announces sanctions on Iranian paramilitary force

The US Treasury on Tuesday slapped sanctions on businesses providing financial support to an Iranian paramilitary group as part of its so-called maximum pressure campaign against Tehran.

In announcing the sanctions, the Treasury said a network of more than 20 businesses known as the Bonyad Taavon Basij was financing the Basij Resistance Force, a component of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

"The international community must understand that business entanglements with the Bonyad Taavon Basij network and IRGC front companies have real-world humanitarian consequences," said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.