The Iran nuclear program’s Arak heavy water reactor. Photo: Nanking2012/ Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – The United States sanctioned 31 individuals and entities on Friday connected to Iran’s Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, known by its Persian acronym as SPND, which consists of “key personnel [who] played a central role in the Iranian regime’s past nuclear weapons effort,” according to US officials.

“The United States will continue applying maximum pressure to the Iranian regime, using all economic tools to prevent Iran from developing weapons of mass destruction,” said US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “Anyone considering dealing with the Iranian defense industry in general, and SPND in particular, risks professional, personal and financial isolation.”

A senior US official said in a conference call with reporters that the fresh sanctions are “radioactive,” warning young Iranian scientists involved in the regime’s missile and nuclear initiatives that they would be prohibited from attending global conferences and face additional consequences if they were associated with SPND.

One of the 17 entities targeted includes Shahid Karimi Group that is, according to the Treasury Department, “an SPND subordinate group that works on missile and explosives-related projects for SPND” and “has conducted weapons systems, materials, and explosion research on behalf of SPND.”

The group’s leader, Mohammad Reza Mehdipur, was one of the 14 individuals sanctioned.