US imposes fresh sanctions targeting Iran oil trade, Hezbollah
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said his department would continue to target the revenue sources that fuel Tehran's destabilising activities.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
- US sanctions target a network led by Salim Ahmed Said, smuggling Iranian oil disguised as Iraqi oil since 2020, worth billions of dollars.
- VS Tankers, formerly AISSOT, is sanctioned for blending Iranian oil with Iraqi oil and selling it using forged documents to western buyers.
- Sanctions also target Hezbollah-controlled Al-Qard Al-Hassan officials for conducting millions in transactions benefiting Hezbollah.
AI generated
WASHINGTON - The US imposed sanctions on July 3 against a network that smuggles Iranian oil disguised as Iraqi oil, and on a Hezbollah-controlled financial institution, the Treasury Department said.
A network of companies run by Iraqi-British national Salim Ahmed Said has been buying and shipping billions of dollars worth of Iranian oil disguised as, or blended with, Iraqi oil since at least 2020, the department said.
“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 destabilising activities,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
The US has imposed waves of sanctions on Iran’s oil exports over its nuclear programme and funding of militant groups across the Middle East.
Reuters reported in late 2024 that a fuel oil smuggling network that generates at least US$1 billion (S$1.2 billion) a year for Iran and its proxies has flourished in Iraq since 2022.
The July 3 sanctions came after the US carried out strikes on June 22
The Pentagon said on July 2 that the strikes had degraded Iran’s nuclear programme
The US and Iran are expected to hold talks about its nuclear programme next week in Oslo, Axios reported.
Said’s companies and vessels blend Iranian oil with Iraqi oil, which is then sold to Western buyers via Iraq or the United Arab Emirates as purely Iraqi oil using forged documentation to avoid sanctions, the US Treasury said.
Said controls UAE-based company VS Tankers though he avoids formal association with it, the Treasury said.
Formerly known as Al-Iraqia Shipping Services & Oil Trading (AISSOT), VS Tankers has smuggled oil for the benefit of the Iranian government and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is designated by Washington as a terrorist organisation, it said.
The sanctions block US assets of those designated and prevent Americans from doing business with them.
VS Tankers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iran’s mission in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The US also sanctioned several vessels that are accused of engaging in the covert delivery of Iranian oil, intensifying pressure on Iran’s “shadow fleet,” it said.
The Treasury Department also issued sanctions against several senior officials and one entity associated with the Hezbollah-controlled financial institution Al-Qard Al-Hassan.
The officials, the department said, conducted millions of dollars in transactions that ultimately benefited, but obscured, Hezbollah. REUTERS
