Feb. 24 (UPI) -- The Treasury Department and State Department on Monday announced sanctions on more than 30 individuals and vessels connected with the sale and transportation of Iranian oil and its products from that country to other entities against the law.
Oil brokers caught up in the sanctions are from multiple jurisdictions, including China, India, and the United Arab Emirates. The United States said the brokers and vessels are accused of arranging and transferring "tens of millions of barrels" of crude oil from Iran worth "hundreds of millions" of dollars.
U.S. officials accuse Iran of using the ill-gotten funds to sow discourse and destabilize activities throughout the region. Iran has depended on what is called a "shadow fleet" to escape detection.
"Iran continues to rely a shadowy network of vessels, shippers, and brokers to facilitate its oil sales and fund its destabilizing activities," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. "The United States will use all our available tools to target all aspects of Iran's oil supply chain, and anyone who deals in Iranian oil exposes themselves to significant sanction risk."
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Those sanctioned include Hamid Bovard, Iran's deputy minister of petroleum and CEO of the country's National Iranian Oil Company. Also sanctioned is the Iranian Oil Terminals Company and its manager Abbass Asadrouz, which oversees all operations at Iran's oil terminals.
Sayyed Ali Miri and Gholamhossein Gerami, who manage the Kharg Island Oil Terminal and South Pars Condensate Terminal, respectively, are also sanctioned. Ali Moalemi, the head of the North Oil Terminal along the Caspian Sea has also been targeted.
Some of the brokers who have been penalized in the enforcement include UAE-based Petroquimico FZE and the Barbados-flagged ship Casinova, which is also known as the Ying Ge. Other brokers include Petronix Energy Trading Limited, out of Hong Kong; and Le Monde Marine Services Limited, based in Liberia.
Connected are the Panama-flagged ship Meng Xin and the CookIslands-flagged ship Phoenix I.
