The Treasury Department Thursday imposed new sanctions on an international oil network it said ships hundreds of millions of dollars of Iranian oil to China. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Iran uses the oil money for its military and “regional terrorist proxy groups.” Photo by Ken Cedeno/UPI |
License PhotoFeb. 6 (UPI) — The Treasury Department Thursday imposed new sanctions on an international oil network it said ships hundreds of millions of dollars of oil to China to benefit Iran’s military.
“The Iranian regime remains focused on leveraging its oil revenues to fund the development of its nuclear program, to produce its deadly ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, and to support its regional terrorist proxy groups. The United States is committed to aggressively targeting any attempt by Iran to secure funding for these malign activities,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
According to the Treasury Department, despite sanctions Iran realizes the equivalent of billions of dollars per year in oil sales.
That revenue, Treasury said, is used by Iran for its military and also to fund and support Hamas, the Houthis and Hezbollah which are considered terrorist groups by the United States.
The international network sanctioned Thursday allegedly shipped oil on behalf of Iran’s Armed Forces general Staff to China.
“The oil was shipped on behalf of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS) and its sanctioned front company, Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars (Sepehr Energy). This action includes entities and individuals in multiple jurisdictions, including the PRC, India, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as several vessels.”
The Treasury Department said Sepehr Energy and affiliated companies operate under the AFGS umbrella using a variety of deceitful methods to evade sanctions.
They include “falsification of maritime documents to obfuscate the Iranian origin of the oil that it trades and transports to overseas buyers,” according to the Treasury Department.
Treasury identified the vessel Siri, previously known as Anthea, as a Comoros-flagged tanker operating near Singapore carrying Iranian oil. It has allegedly tried to hide its identity by also operating as the New Prime.
Iranian national Arash Lavian was also sanctioned Thursday for allegedly materially assisting and providing support for Sepehr Energy.
The India-based Marshal Ship Management Private Limited company was sanctioned. Indian national Ryan Xavier Aranha was sanctioned as an alleged director of Marshal.
Other vessels and companies connected to Sepehr were sanctioned, including Sepehr Energy Hamta Pars, Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Taban, and Sepehr Energy Paya Gostar Jahan.
