China last week announced sanctions against six American defense companies and their senior executives for arms sales to Taiwan. The measures, taken under China’s anti-foreign sanctions law (see 2309270039 and 2310230032), target Anduril Industries, Maritime Tactical Systems, Pacific Rim Defense, AEVEX Aerospace, LKD Aerospace and Summit Technologies, according to an unofficial translation of a July 12 notice from the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The ministry said the sanctions freeze those companies’ assets in China, and Chinese companies will be barred from doing certain business with their executives. Spokespeople for the six companies didn’t respond to a request for comment.

The U.S. last week sanctioned Iran-based Hakiman Shargh Research Company and added it to its Specially Designated Nationals List for its ties to Iran’s chemical weapons research and development efforts, the State Department said. The agency said the designation "follows the United States’ repeated calls for Iran to remedy its noncompliance" with the Chemical Weapons Convention.

The U.S. this week sanctioned the Venezuela-based group Tren de Aragua, which it labeled a transnational criminal organization, for its involvement in human smuggling, gender-based violence, money laundering, illegal drug trafficking and other criminal activities, the Treasury Department said. The State Department also is offering up to $12 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of certain Tren de Aragua leaders. The designation comes after Republicans in March urged the Biden administration to sanction the group (see 2403180042 and 2404110054).

The U.S. sanctioned three more Israelis and five more Israeli entities for their involvement in violence or threats of violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. Among the designations are Isachar Manne and the Manne Farm Outpost, which the State Department said Manne established on land belonging to Palestinians. The agency also sanctioned Reut Ben Haim and Aviad Shlomo Sarid -- leaders of the group Tzav 9, which the U.S. sanctioned in June for blocking aid to Gaza (see 2406170030) -- as well as Lehava, Meitarim Farm, Hamahoch Farm and Neriya’s Farm. The U.S. has previously sanctioned Israelis for violence against Palestinians (see 2404190045 and 2403140019) after President Joe Biden signed an executive order in February authorizing those sanctions (see 2402010053).

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week renewed a Russia-related general license that authorizes certain transactions involving the Russian Federation's Central Bank, Wealth Fund and Ministry of Finance. General License No. 13J which replaced 13I, now authorizes those transactions, including taxes, fees, or import duties, through 12:01 a.m. EDT Oct. 9. The license was set to expire July 11.

The U.K. this week updated guidance for several of its sanctions regimes to provide more information on its “director disqualification sanctions,” which block designated people from being a director of a U.K. company. The country’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said the restrictions also prohibit a designated person from “directly or indirectly taking part in or being concerned in the promotion, formation or management of a company.” The U.K.’s Companies House is responsible for “preventing registration” of a sanctioned person as a director of a U.K. company unless the government issues that person a license. OFSI added the language to its guidance for its Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nicaragua, Global Human Rights, Global anti-corruption, Zimbabwe, Venezuela and Guinea-Bissau sanctions regimes.

Certain vessels targeted by the EU’s sanctions against Russia may use European ports and port services in special emergency scenarios, including to unload “dangerous or polluting goods,” the European Commission said in a recent frequently asked question. Those vessels can use EU ports “within a reasonable time” after being sanctioned, “and in any case not later than 30 days from the date of” their designation, the FAQ said.

The U.K. on July 3 issued a general license authorizing certain transactions between sanctioned parties and the National Settlement Depository. The license allows certain designated parties -- except for those subject to Russia-related sanctions -- to "carry out any activity reasonably necessary to sell, divest or transfer" debt and equity securities and financial instruments held by the National Settlement Depository. The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation said any party conducting a transaction under the license must keep records on those transactions for a minimum of six years. The license runs through Aug. 13.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control deleted two Russia-related entries from its Specially Designation Nationals List. The agency removed Marina Igorevna Tsareva, who was sanctioned in 2018 for helping to procure underwater equipment and diving systems for Russian government agencies, and Alexey Valeryevich Panferov, who OFAC had sanctioned in 2022 as part of a tranche of designations targeting Russia's defense industrial base. An agency spokesperson didn't immediately respond to a request for comment about why OFAC removed both from the SDN List.

The State Department is maintaining al-Shabaab's designation as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, the agency said in a notice dated May 2 and published in the Federal Register this week. It said the “circumstances that were the basis for the designation of al-Shabaab” as an FTO “have not changed in such a manner as to warrant revocation of the designation.” The U.S. has for years imposed sanctions on Somalia-based al-Shabaab and people linked to the group, including financial facilitators and weapons smugglers (see 2210170069, 2405230025 and 2305240037).