On Monday, the United States of America imposed new sanctions on more than 30 individuals and a ship linked to Iran, including the President of the Iranian National Oil Company, Hamid Bouord, as part of Washington’s efforts to target Iranian oil sales and shipping operations, according to the US Treasury today today Monday.
“Iran continues to rely on a mysterious network of ships and shipping companies and brokers to facilitate its oil sales and finance its destabilizing activities,” US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent said in an official statement.
He stressed that the United States will use all the tools available to target all aspects of the Iranian oil supply chain, warning that any party deals in Iranian oil is exposing itself to major sanctions.
American sanctions details
According to the US Treasury statement, the sanctions are targeted:
- Oil brokers in the Emirates and Hong Kong.
- Workmanships and managers of oil tankers in India and China.
- Iranian National Oil Company (NIOC) and the Iranian Oil Stations Company.
- Hamid Bouord, Iranian Deputy Minister of Oil and CEO of the Iranian National Oil Company.
The US State Department also announced sanctions on 16 additional companies involved in buying, selling and transporting Iranian oil, according to the German News Agency.
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Iranian oil smuggling network
According to Reuters, Iran, similar to Russia, relies on an unregistered carrier fleet, known as the “shadow fleet”, as these ships transport oil through transfers between ships in international waters to avoid Western sanctions.
American estimates indicate that the ships that were targeted in the recent sanctions transported tens of millions of crude oil barrels worth hundreds of millions of dollars, “which contributes to financing the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and its external activities,” according to Washington.
The United States had previously imposed sanctions on the Iranian National Oil Company because of its support for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Quds Corps, the external wing of the Iranian military forces.
The goals of the penalties and their potential effects
Through these sanctions, Washington seeks to:
- Undering Iran’s ability to export oil, which is a major source of financing its nuclear and missile programs.
- Reducing Tehran’s financial returns, which are used to finance its pro -armed groups.
- Warning international parties against dealing with the Iranian oil sector, as these sanctions prohibit any American and non -American individuals or entities dealing with the targeted bodies, and any assets have also been frozen in the United States.
These measures are added to previous sanctions imposed by the administration of former US President Joe Biden, as part of the policy of economic pressure on Iran.
This American escalation comes at a time when relations between Washington and Tehran are increasingly tense.
