July 3 (UPI) -- The Treasury Department is targeting Iranian networks that allegedly buy and transport billions of dollars worth of Iranian oil in violation of international sanctions.
Some of the funds generated from the illicit oil sales benefit Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, which is a designated foreign terrorist organization, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on Thursday.
"Iran's behavior has left it decimated," Bessent said in a news release. "While it has had every opportunity to choose peace, its leaders have chosen extremism.
"Treasury will continue to target Tehran's revenue sources and intensify economic pressure to disrupt the regime's access to the financial resources that fuel its destabilizing activities."
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Alleged oil-smuggling network
A network of companies run by Iraqi businessman Salim Ahmed Said is among the Treasury Department's targets.
Said's companies, since at least 2020, have profited by smuggling Iranian oil that is disguised as or blended with Iraqi oil, according to the Treasury Department.
The companies use ship-to-ship transfers and forged documents to hide their activities while selling Iranian oil as Iraqi oil to buyers in Iraq and the United Arab Emirates.
The Iranian oil then is sold on the legitimate market, which helps Iran to elude international sanctions on the sale of its oil.
The Treasury Department also accuses Said of bribing several members of the Iraqi Parliament and relevant governmental units by giving them millions of dollars in kickback payments in exchange for forged vouchers that enable Iranian oil to be sold as Iraqi oil.
Iranian shadow fleet sanctioned
Several vessels that covertly deliver the illicit Iranian oil and are referred to as Iran's "shadow fleet" and their owners also are targeted with sanctions.
The Treasury Department said Said controls the UAE-based company VS Tankers, despite having no formal association with the shipping firm.
The shipping company's tankers have smuggled Iranian oil to the benefit of the Iranian government and the IRGC, according to the Treasury Department.
It also is accused of arranging the transportation of Iranian oil via Iraqi pipelines to be blended and sold as Iraqi oil in 2020.
Officials for VS Tankers also have participated in illicit ship-to-ship transfers of Iranian oil with vessels known to be part of Iran's illicit oil activities.
Iran's shadow fleet enables the regime to transport its petroleum to generate revenue by transferring oil from sanctioned vessels to those that aren't before shipping the Iranian oil to buyers in Asia, according to the Treasury Department.
Singapore-based Trans Arctic Global Marine Services, Seychelles-based Egir Shipping, and Marshall Islands-based Fotis Lines and Themis are among several shipping firms being sanctioned for enabling the transport of tens of millions of barrels of Iranian oil.
Property and interests could be seized
The sanctions against the operators and those partnered with entities involved in disguising, transporting and selling the illicit Iranian oil enable the United States to seize all property and other interests that are located within the United States and its territories.
Violations could lead to civil and criminal prosecutions in U.S. courts.
The sanctions come after the Treasury Department in April also sanctioned Iran's ballistic missile propellant procurement network.
