US imposes sanctions on Iran’s oil sector over missile attack on Israel | Politics News

Washington, D.C. – The United States has imposed sanctions on companies and ships allegedly involved in trading and transporting Iranian oil to punish Tehran for its recent rocket attack on military sites in Israel.

The US Treasury and State Department announced the sanctions on Friday, as Israeli officials continue to vow to respond forcefully to the Iranian attack.

Tehran fired a barrage of rockets into Israel on October 1 in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and an Iranian general in Beirut.

“Following Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 1, the United States made clear that we would impose consequences on Iran for its actions,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

“To that end, today we are taking steps to disrupt the flow of revenue that the Iranian regime uses to fund its nuclear program and missile development, support terrorist proxies and partners, and perpetuate conflict throughout the Middle East.”

Friday’s measures add Iran’s oil and petrochemical industries to a list of sectors that Washington says Tehran uses to finance its ballistic missile and nuclear programs, allowing further sanctions against them.

But Iranian oil and petrochemical companies are already subject to severe US sanctions.

The latest penalties appear aimed at tightening enforcement of restrictions on Iranian exports while sending a signal of support for Israel in the wake of the rocket attack.

The State Department said U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is “issuing a decision that will result in the imposition of sanctions against any individual determined to operate in the petroleum or petrochemical sector of the Iranian economy.”

The State Department on Friday imposed sanctions on six companies and six ships, while the Treasury Department targeted 17 ships.

The ships are registered in the United Arab Emirates, China and Panama, among others.

The sanctions freeze companies’ assets in the United States and generally prohibit Americans from conducting financial transactions with them.

The region continues to await Israel’s response to the attack and fears an escalation that could plunge the entire Middle East into all-out war.

Last week, Biden suggested that Israel refrain from attacking Iranian nuclear facilities or oil fields, but the Israeli government has repeatedly defied Biden’s public warnings in the past.

“The Israelis have not yet decided what they will do. That’s being discussed,” Biden told reporters last week.

“If I were in their position, I would consider other alternatives than attacking Iranian oil fields.”

On Thursday, a spokesman for Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi group allied with Iran, warned that if an “energy war” began, the world would lose about 12 million barrels of oil a day – about 10 percent of global production. The spokesman did not provide any further information.

A military attack on Iran’s oil sector could send global prices soaring and prove costly for American consumers, hurting the election chances of Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.

Earlier this week, Harris declared Iran the U.S.’s “greatest adversary” while reiterating her “unwavering” support for Israel.

Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday and also reiterated his “ironclad” support for the US ally.

U.S. officials have portrayed the Iranian missile attack on Israel as unprovoked, even though Haniyeh was assassinated on Iranian soil in late July in an attack widely attributed to Israel.

Asked after Haniyeh’s killing whether Iran had the right to defend itself “as a sovereign nation,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel dismissed the question and accused Tehran of “destabilizing” actions across the region.

Iran’s envoy to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said this week that his country was “fully prepared to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against any aggression aimed at its vital interests and security.”