US freezes two Iranian firms' assets for proliferation

WASHINGTON, July 18 (Reuters) The U S government today froze the assets of two Iranian companies which it said were supporting weapons proliferation and barred U S firms or individuals from doing business with them.

The Treasury Department added Sanam Industrial Group and Ya Mahdi Industries Group to a list of 24 entities the government has named as supporting proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The government has said those on the list are tied to proliferation in either North Korea or Iran.

The designations are administered by Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control and follow an executive order issued in June 2005 by President George W. Bush aimed at using financial sanctions to crack down on groups or individuals providing support to proliferators.

U S authorities have used a range of executive orders and laws to levy financial sanctions on firms or individuals the government says are helping terrorism or weapons proliferation.

The Treasury also designates firms or individuals for violations of laws aimed at preventing money laundering, the practice of disguising the criminal origins of funds, as part of efforts to choke off financing for terrorist activity.

In the international arena, the U S government and five other major nations have sought to pressure Iran into dropping its nuclear development program out of worries it might allow Tehran to arm itself with nuclear weapons. Iran has yet to respond to an offer made June 6 to initiate talks on a package of energy and economic incentives if Iran halts uranium enrichment.

Treasury named Sanam Industrial Group and Ya Mahdi Industries Group because it said the firms have ties to the Aerospace Industries Organization, a subsidiary of the Iranian Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics that coordinates Iran's missile program.

REUTERS PKS HT2220