TEHRAN- More than a dozen people and organizations in Iran, China, and Hong Kong have been hit with additional sanctions by the Joe Biden administration for allegedly aiding the Islamic Republic’s ballistic missile development.

As part of Washington’s alleged pressure campaign against Tehran, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement on Tuesday that the new sanctions were directed against a network of seven people and six companies in Iran, China, and Hong Kong.

“This network conducted transactions and facilitated the procurement of sensitive and critical parts and technology for key actors in Iran’s ballistic missile development, including Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics,” the Treasury Department claimed in the statement.

Beijing Shiny Nights Technology Development, Qingdao Zhongrongtong Trade Development, Hong Kong Ke.Do International Trade Co, Lingoe Process Engineering Limited, and Zhejiang Qingji Ind. Co. are among the firms that have been adversely affected by sanctions.

Additionally, the U.S. Treasury placed sanctions on Davoud Damghani, Iran’s defense attaché in Beijing, on the grounds that he orchestrated the purchase of Chinese supplies for Iran’s defense industry.

In March 2021, China and Iran inked a 25-year cooperation pact to solidify their long-standing economic and political connection. The sanctions, which forbid U.S. firms and individuals and companies from doing business with anyone included on the blacklist, were announced at the same time.

Despite Iran’s complete compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the 2015 nuclear deal’s formal name, the United States under former president Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned the pact in May 2018 and re-imposed crushing sanctions on Iran.

Trump’s so-called “maximum pressure” campaign did not succeed in achieving his declared goals, but the waves of sanctions had a severe impact on ordinary Iranians, especially many who were afflicted with life-threatening diseases.

The sanctions, which Trump’s successor, Joe Biden, has kept in place, have limited the financial channels available to pay for essential foodstuffs and medication, damaging supply chains by restricting the number of suppliers willing to assist sales of humanitarian items to the country.

Iran has consistently called the sanctions “economic war,” “economic terrorism,” and “medical terrorism.”