The State Department announced that “the U.S. is taking action against three Iranian entitles linked to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and sanctioning eight other entities that helped smuggle weapons from Iran to Yemen”. The statement noted that “to allow exporters of humanitarian goods to Iran sufficient time to find alternate shopping methods, the designations for IRISL [Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines] and E-Sail Shipping Company Ltd will have a brief wind-down period” of 180 days.