Washington, April 1 -- The United States on Tuesday (local time) sanctioned six entities and two individuals based in Iran, the UAE, and China that have been involved in the procurement of key components on behalf of entities connected to Iran's UAV and ballistic missile programs.

The US State Department said in a statement that "today's action is a part of President Trump's maximum pressure campaign on the Iranian regime to disrupt efforts by the US-sanctioned Iran-based Qods Aviation Industries to procure equipment for Iran's military-industrial complex and UAV program."

"The United States will use all available means to expose and disrupt Iran's growing UAV and missile development programs and weapons proliferation, which destabilize...