The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued sanctions on a network of individuals and vessels for facilitating the shipment of barrels of Iranian crude oil to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
In a statement, OFAC stated that the Iranian oil was shipped on behalf of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS). Entities and individuals in multiple jurisdictions, including the PRC, India, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as several vessels were sanctioned for facilitating the shipments.
Furthermore, this action is consistent with the President’s 4 February National Security Presidential Memorandum directing the Treasury Department and other U.S. government agencies to enact maximum economic pressure on Iran in order to deny all paths to a nuclear weapon and counter Iran’s influence.
However, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, strongly condemned the new round of sanctions imposed by the United States that Washington says facilitate Iranian oil shipments.
According to the Islamic Republic News Agency, Baghaei said the new sanctions were “entirely illegitimate” and “in contravention of international rules and regulations.”
To remind, U.S. recently also sanctioned six Russian oil tankers still under construction, underscoring a tightening U.S. stance on curbing Russia’s oil trade amidst the ongoing geopolitical conflict.
