The U.S. State Department announced increased pressure on entities and vessels involved in Iran’s oil industry Monday.
The State Department and the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said they were sanctioning a total of 22 people and identified 13 vessels as blocked property for their involvement in Iran’s oil industry. The network of shipping facilitators has deceived U.S. officials in their role loading and transporting Iranian oil, the departments alleged, and have shipped tens of millions of barrels of crude oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The actions taken by the departments represent initial steps to put maximum pressure on Iran, officials said.
“The Iranian regime continues to destabilize global security with its nuclear threat, ballistic missile program, and support for terrorist groups,” the State Department said in a press release. “Iran’s oil exports are enabled by a network of illicit shipping facilitators in multiple jurisdictions who, through obfuscation and deception, load and transport Iranian oil for sale to buyers in Asia.”
The order identified, BSM Marine Limited Liability Partnership, based in India, that manages the Yateeka; Kangan Petro Refinery Company, in Iran; Cosmos Lines Inc., based in India; Alkonost maritime DMCC, based in the United Arab Emirates, and managing the vessels Meng Xin and Phoenix; and Austinship Management Private Limited, an Indian-based company managing the vessel Amak; among others.
“We will continue to disrupt such illicit funding streams for Iran’s malign activities,” the State Department said in its release. “As long as Iran devotes its energy revenues to financing attacks on our allies, supporting terrorism around the world, or pursuing other destabilizing actions, we will use all the tools at our disposal to hold the regime accountable.”
The actions were part of President Donald Trump’s Executive Orders targeting Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical industries and ordering the federal government to implement maximum pressure on Iran.
The actions prohibit all U.S. persons or persons within the United States from doing business with the entities.