The US is expanding sanctions on Iran to curb oil money over the attack on Israel

The US Treasury Department has expanded a sanctions regime against the Iranian economy to include the country’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors in response to Iran’s missile attack on Israel earlier this month.

It has also imposed a financial and activity blockade on nearly 30 shipping companies and ships for collaborating with Iranian shippers in transporting Iranian oil and petrochemicals.

At the same time, the State Department imposed similar sanctions on twelve other companies and ships. The State Department accused them of involvement in Iran’s oil trade and said the sanctions were aimed at cutting revenue that Tehran uses to finance terrorism abroad and repression at home.

The Treasury Department said in a statement: “This action increases financial pressure on Iran and limits the regime’s ability to generate critical energy revenues to undermine regional stability and attack U.S. partners and allies.”

The Treasury Department cited an executive order issued by then-President Donald Trump in January 2020. “EO 13902 provides the authority to identify and impose sanctions on key sectors of the Iranian economy in order to deny the Government of Iran financial resources used to finance and support its nuclear program, missile development, terrorism and terrorist proxy networks, as well as harmful regional influence could be used,” it said in the statement on its website.

“According to this decision, the Ministry of Finance may impose sanctions on any person determined to operate in the petroleum and petrochemical sector of the Iranian economy.”

Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said: “In response to Iran’s attack on Israel, the United States is taking decisive action to further impair the Iranian regime’s ability to finance and carry out its destabilizing activities.”

The Treasury Department also imposed sanctions on 10 companies based in various countries, including China, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as 17 vessels linked to those companies, for their involvement in the already blocked companies National Iranian Oil Co. and Triliance Petrochemical Co. Ltd . of Iran.

“Iran’s oil exports are facilitated by a network of illegal shipping intermediaries in multiple jurisdictions who, through concealment and deception, load and transport Iranian oil for sale to buyers in Asia,” including China, the Treasury Department said, calling the ships a “ghost fleet.” “.

Six other companies and six associated ships were blocked by the State Department for their involvement in Iran’s oil trade, in an “action to curb the revenue streams the regime uses to support terrorism abroad and oppress its own people.” it said in a separate statement.

The State Department cited a separate executive order also issued by Trump. With Executive Order 13846 of August 2018, Washington reinstated economic sanctions against Iran after the Trump administration withdrew from an agreement in which Iran agreed to gradually achieve nuclear disarmament in return for sanctions relief weapons to reach.

“Taken together, these actions target a significant portion of the shadow fleet of tankers and illegal operators carrying the Iranian regime’s petroleum exports,” the Treasury Department said of the two ministries’ simultaneous enforcement actions.

As a result of the sanctions imposed by the two departments, the targets’ ownership and interests in property owned in the United States or under the control of US citizens have been frozen. Americans are also prohibited from doing business with these companies.

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