The U.S. Department of State has announced the designation of 16 entities and vessels involved in Iran's petroleum and petrochemical industry. This action is part of a broader initiative, involving the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which includes sanctions on a total of 22 individuals and the identification of 13 vessels as blocked property across various jurisdictions.
According to Tammy Bruce, Department Spokesperson, "This network of illicit shipping facilitators obfuscates and deceives its role in loading and transporting Iranian oil for sale to buyers in Asia." The network has reportedly shipped tens of millions of barrels of crude oil valued at hundreds of millions of dollars.
The measures taken today are described as an initial step towards implementing President Trump's strategy to exert maximum pressure on Iran. The actions aim to disrupt Iran's efforts to generate oil revenues used for funding terrorist activities. Bruce emphasized, "We will continue to disrupt such illicit funding streams for Iran’s malign activities."
These sanctions are enacted under Executive Orders 13902 and 13846, targeting Iran's petroleum and petrochemical sectors. They represent the second round of sanctions since President Trump issued National Security Presidential Memorandum 2, initiating a campaign against Iran. For further details on these actions, refer to the Treasury’s press release.
