WANA (Mar 20) – The U.S. State Department has announced a reward of up to $15 million for information regarding a wanted Chinese national and other suspects accused of illegally exporting American drone technology to Iran.

 

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Emily Luo and three other Chinese nationals were indicted in January 2024 under the administration of former President Joe Biden.

 

They are accused of illegally exporting controlled U.S. goods through China and Hong Kong to Iranian-affiliated entities, including Iran’s Ministry of Defense, which oversees weapons and drone development.

 

On Wednesday, the State Department reiterated its commitment to disrupting financial networks linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its affiliated branches, offering a reward for information that leads to the dismantling of these mechanisms.

 

The department further stated that Luo and her co-defendants misrepresented the end users of U.S. dual-use electronic goods, deceiving American companies into believing the items were destined for Chinese firms rather than Iran.

 

Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Department has imposed new sanctions on Iran, citing concerns over Tehran’s drone capabilities. These measures align with the “maximum pressure” strategy implemented during the second administration of President Donald Trump.

 

In February 2024, the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned a network of Hong Kong-based companies, alleging that they supplied Western-made sensitive components and technology for Iran’s drone and missile programs on behalf of the Iranian firm Pishtazan Kavosh Gostar Boshra.