The State Department and the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) have imposed sanctions on Iran’s oil trade. According to OFAC, these are the second batch of sanctions targeting Iranian petroleum following President Trump’s Feb. 4 memo that established the goal to “drive Iran’s export of oil to zero” and ordered “maximum pressure on Iran” generally.
Specifically, OFAC and State imposed sanctions on over 30 persons and entities, including Iranian nationals and companies, and international oil brokers, tanker operators and vessels with origins spanning the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Panama, UAE, India, Malaysia, and others. Collectively, the sanctioned vessels have shipped tens of millions of barrels of crude oil, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the Islamic Republic.
The sanctions targeted the following individuals:
- Hamid Bovard, Iran’s Deputy Minister of Petroleum and chief executive officer of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC). The funds that NIOC generates “plays a key role in underwriting the regionally destabilizing activities of Iran’s military and its proxy groups, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF),” according to OFAC. Additionally, “[t]he Iranian government allocates billions of dollars’ worth of oil each year to its armed forces to supplement their annual budget allocations.” In 2020, the US had designated NIOC as materially supporting the IRGC-QF.
- Abbass Asadrouz, manager of the Iranian Oil Terminals Company (IOTC). IOTC is a subsidiary of NIOC, and oversees Iran’s oil terminals.
- Sayyed Ali Miri, manager of Iran’s Kharg Island Oil Terminal.
- Gholamhossein Gerami, manager of Iran’s South Pars Condensate Terminal.
- Ali Moalemi, manager of Iran’s North Oil Terminal.
Additionally, the sanctions targeted the following international oil brokers, vessels and entities:
- UAE-based Petroquimico FZE, who has purchased tens of millions of dollars’ worth of petroleum products from NIOC.Also now sanctioned are the vessels used by Petroquimico FZE: the Barbados-flagged vessel CASINOVA, also known as YING GE, which has transported Iranian oil to the UAE, and is operated by sanctioned Le Monde Marine Services Limited.
- Hong Kong-based Petronix Energy Trading Limited (Petronix Energy), who haspurchased hundreds of thousands of metric tons of Iranian oil from sanctioned Naftiran Intertrade Company, the marketing arm of NIOC, for onward shipment to the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Petronix Energy used the Panama-flagged MENG XIN and the Cook Islands-flagged PHOENIX I, both now sanctioned, to transport the oil.
The sanctions also targeted other vessels and entities:
- Panama-flagged URGANE I, managed and operated by PRC-based and also-now sanctioned Nycity Shipmanagement Co Ltd (Nycity Shipmanagement), which has loaded Iranian crude oil with a tanker owned by the sanctioned National Iranian Tanker Company. URGANE I has transported multiple Iranian petroleum shipments to the PRC.
- India-based Flux Maritime LLP, which has served as the technical manager of a vessel that loaded hundreds of thousands of barrels of heavy Iranian crude oil.
- Panama-flagged tankers LYDIA II, AYDEN, and FIONA: they have transported multiple shipments of Iranian oil to refineries in the PRC.
- Seychelles-based shell companies Sunny Land Trading Ltd, Green Garden Trading Ltd, and Artemis Heart Ltd, who are the owners, managers, and operators of the LYDIA II, the AYDEN, and the FIONA, respectively.
The State Department is additionally designating eight entities for their involvement in Iranian petroleum. Those include: Iran-based Kangan Petro Refining Company; India-based BSM Marine Limited Liability Partnership, Austinship Management Private Limited, Cosmos Lines Inc; UAE-based Alkonost Maritime DMCC and Octane Energy Group FZCO; Malaysia-based IMS Ltd; and Seychelles-based Oceanend Shipping Ltd.
Sanctions are applied to eight vessels of which the above entities have an interest: Gabon-flagged YATEEKA (BSM Marine Limited Liability Partnership); the Cook Islands-flagged MENG XIN and PHOENIX I (Alkonost Maritime DMCC); the Eswatini-flagged AMAK (Austinship Management Private Limited); and the Panama-flagged VIOLET 1, PETERPAUL and CHAMTANG (IMS Ltd); and Gambia-flagged ASTERIX (Oceanend Shipping Ltd).
READ MORE from Steve Postal:
House GOP Releases Report Highlighting Grave CCP Spy Threat
Palestinian Authority Gives $140M Golden Parachutes to Terrorists Exchanged for Hostages