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The US sanctioned 30 persons and vessels for their role in brokering the sale and transportation of Iranian petroleum-related products.
The US Department of the Treasury in Washington. (AP Photo)
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office under the Trump administration as well as the US State Department announced a fresh round of sanctions on Iran’s shadow oil industry, including tanker operators and managers in India and China.
The US announced sanctions on over 30 persons and vessels in multiple jurisdictions for their role in brokering the sale and transportation of Iranian petroleum-related products. Oil brokers in the UAE and Hong Kong and the head of Iran’s National Iranian Oil Company were also targeted.
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The vessels sanctioned by the US were reportedly responsible for shipping tens of millions of barrels of crude oil valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. “Iran continues to rely on a shadowy network of vessels, shippers, and brokers to facilitate its oil sales and fund its destabilising activities," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant said in an official statement.
“The United States will use all our available tools to target all aspects of Iran’s oil supply chain, and anyone who deals in Iranian oil exposes themselves to significant sanctions risk," Bessant added.
Which Indian Entities Were Sanctioned?
The new sanctions came after US President Donald Trump sought to bring Iran’s crude exports to zero to prevent the country from obtaining a nuclear weapon. They also build on the layers of sanctions already imposed by his government and the previous Biden administration.
India-based BSM Marine Limited Liability Partnership, Austinship Management Private Limited and Cosmos Lines Inc were sanctioned for “having knowingly engaged in a significant transaction for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of petroleum or petroleum products, or petrochemical products from Iran."
Additionally, India-based Flux Maritime LLP has served as the technical manager of a vessel that loaded hundreds of thousands of barrels of heavy Iranian crude oil via a ship-to-ship transfer, the Treasury said.
Iranian Oil Terminals Company, which was included in the new round of sanctions, oversees all operations at Iran’s oil terminals, including Kharg Island Oil Terminal, through which a majority of Iranian oil flows, and South Pars Condensate Terminal, which accounts for 100% of Iran’s gas condensate exports, according to the US Treasury.
Donald Trump’s ‘Maximum Pressure’ On Iran
Earlier this month, Trump signed an executive order directing the Treasury Secretary to impose “maximum economic pressure" on Iran, including sanctions and enforcement mechanisms on those violating existing sanctions.
It also directs the Treasury and State Department to implement a campaign aimed at “driving Iran’s oil exports to zero." The US President said he would love to make a deal with Iran to improve bilateral relations, but added that Tehran should not develop a nuclear weapon.
“They cannot have a nuclear weapon and if I think that they will have a nuclear weapon … I think that’s going to be very unfortunate for them," he said. “We will once again enforce the most aggressive possible sanctions, drive Iranian oil exports to zero, and diminish the regime’s capacity to fund terror throughout the region and the world."
Oil is a top source of revenue for Iran, and targeting the country’s exports is meant to deny the government funds for its nuclear and missile programmes. Despite a slew of US actions, Iran’s oil exports brought in $53 billion in 2023 and $54 billion a year earlier, according to US Energy Information Administration estimates.
Trump has accused his predecessor Joe Biden of failing to rigorously enforce oil-export sanctions, which Trump says emboldened Tehran by allowing it to sell oil to fund a nuclear weapons program and armed militias in the Middle East.
(with agency inputs)
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Location :
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
The US sanctioned 30 persons and vessels for their role in brokering the sale and transportation of Iranian petroleum-related products. Oil brokers in the UAE and Hong Kong and the head of Iran’s National Iranian Oil Company were also targeted (Read more at News18).