This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission.
The United States has imposed sanctions on 11 foreign companies for their alleged help in the export of Iranian oil and petrochemical products in violation of U.S. sanctions.
The Treasury Department said on September 3 the sanctions have been imposed on six companies based in Iran, the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), and China.
The United States said Iran’s petroleum industry is a major source of revenue for the Iranian regime to fund terrorism and other destabilizing activities in the Middle East.
The six companies have enabled the shipment and sale of Iranian petrochemicals and supported Hong Kong-based broker Triliance Petrochemical, which was blacklisted in January by the United States.
The companies “support Triliance’s continued involvement in the sale of Iranian petrochemical products, including efforts by Triliance to hide or otherwise obscure its involvement in sales contracts,” the State Department said in a statement.
Among the six companies is Iran’s Zagros Petrochemical Company, which the Treasury Department said agreed to sell Triliance hundreds of thousands of tons of Iranian petrochemicals this year.
The State Department also imposed sanctions on five other companies for engaging in transactions related to Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical industry and on three executive officers of the companies.
“Our actions today reaffirm the United States’ commitment to denying the Iranian regime the financial resources it needs to fuel terrorism and other destabilizing activities,” U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in the statement.
The move freezes any U.S. assets of the companies and individuals sanctioned and generally bars Americans from dealing with them.
The new sanctions add to a long list imposed by the United States since President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.
