The United States on Friday expanded sanctions on Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors.
“This action intensifies financial pressure on Iran, limiting the regime’s ability to earn critical energy revenues to undermine stability in the region and attack US partners and allies,” the US Department of Treasury said in a press release.
It pointed out that the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, is identifying the petroleum and petrochemical sectors of the Iranian economy pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13902, which allows Treasury to target a broader range of activities relating to Iran’s trade in petroleum and petrochemical products. “Today’s sanctions target Iranian efforts to channel revenues from its energy industry to finance deadly and disruptive activity-including development of its nuclear program, the proliferation of ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, and support to regional terrorist proxies-with dangerous consequences for the region and the world,” said Secretary of the Treasury Janet L. Yellen.
“We will not hesitate to take further action to hold Iran accountable.” E.O. 13902 provides authority to identify and impose sanctions on key sectors of Iran’s economy to deny the Iranian government financial resources that may be used to fund and support its nuclear program, missile development, terrorism and terrorist proxy networks, and malign regional influence. Pursuant to this determination, the Treasury may impose sanctions on any person determined to operate in the petroleum and petrochemical sectors of the Iranian economy.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is also designating 10 entities in multiple jurisdictions and identifying 17 vessels as blocked property, pursuant to E.O. 13846, for their involvement in shipments of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products in support of the US-designated National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and Triliance Petrochemical Co. Limited (Triliance).
The US Department of State is also designating six entities and identifying six vessels as blocked property pursuant to E.O. 13846 for knowingly engaging in a significant transaction for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of petroleum or petroleum products from Iran.
Collectively, these actions target a significant portion of the shadow fleet of tankers and illicit operators that move the Iranian regime’s petroleum exports.
NIOC was designated pursuant to the counterterrorism authority E.O. 13224, as amended, on October 26, 2020, for its financial support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps – Qods Force. Triliance was designated pursuant to E.O. 13846 on January 23, 2020 for facilitating the sale of Iranian petroleum products from NIOC.
Source: Kuwait News Agency
