The Biden administration has removed sanctions against two Iranian companies.
The action was announced Friday regarding Mammut Industrial Group (Mammut Industries) and its subsidiary Mammut Diesel. According to The Hill, both companies are involved in military missile programs.
The two companies had both been sanctioned by the Trump administration in September 2020. The Hill reported the sanctions had been part of an increased pressure campaign on Iran over that nation’s nuclear activity.
At the time, the Treasury Department had labeled the companies among the “key actors in Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.”
According to The Hill, the removal of the companies from the sanctions list appears to be related to proceedings brought by the Ferrari & Associates law firm.
Erich Ferrari, founder and principal attorney of Ferrari & Associates, tweeted: “Happy for the delisting of our clients today, and proud of all our team who worked on this. Don’t listen to the hype from any purported ‘experts.’ This is not a political action, its one that followed established legal processes and norms.”
On the firm’s website, Ferrari noted his company represents Mammut Industrial Group.
A Treasury Department spokesperson told UPI: “These de-listings do not reflect any change in U.S. government sanctions policy towards Iran. They have nothing to do with JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) negotiation efforts. The United States will continue to counter Iran’s destabilizing activities, including through implementation of our sanctions.”
The Hill noted the sanctions were part of an estimated 1,500 sanctions by the Trump administration since 2018 when then-President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the JCPOA nuclear accord with Iran.
The outlet said Biden is looking to restart efforts to bring both the U.S. and Iran back to the JCPOA.
