U.S. Targets Chinese Surveillance Firms for Supplying Iran's Security Forces"

The United States is looking to impose sanctions on Chinese companies that have sold surveillance equipment to Iran's security forces, sources familiar with the matter say. The exports of video-recording equipment to Iran more than doubled in 2022 as protests erupted across the country and Iranian authorities resorted to using advanced surveillance technology to clamp down on dissent.

The sanctions are being discussed by both the State Department and the Treasury, and are targeting Tiandy Technologies, a surveillance-equipment maker based in the Chinese city of Tianjin whose products have been sold to units of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The company's surveillance platform, which includes closed-circuit cameras with facial recognition technology and other advanced analytical capabilities, has been sold to the IRGC and another paramilitary group, the Basij, to monitor and crack down on protests in towns just outside of Tehran.

The State Department has issued a statement saying it will "not hesitate to hold persons and entities accountable for supporting human rights violations by [China] and Iran with every tool in our toolbox." The Treasury declined to comment, and Tiandy did not respond to requests for comment.

The United States is also examining Zhejiang Uniview Technologies, another Chinese provider based in the eastern city of Hangzhou, for potential sales of surveillance tools to Iran's security forces. The U.S. Commerce Department placed Tiandy on an export blacklist in December for sales to Iran's IRGC and links to China's campaign against the Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang region. The U.S. is looking at whether Zhejiang Uniview Technologies has also sold surveillance tools to Iran.