US sanctions nine entities involved in Iran petrochemical and petroleum sales News
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US sanctions nine entities involved in Iran petrochemical and petroleum sales

The US Department of the Treasury Thursday announced sanctions against nine entities involved in the production, sale and shipment of millions of dollars worth of Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum. The action targets entities across multiple jurisdictions, including six Iranian manufacturers and their subsidiaries and three companies in Malaysia and Singapore.

Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson called out the companies for attempting to circumvent existing sanctions and said the US “remains focused on targeting Tehran’s sources of illicit revenue and will continue to enforce its sanctions against those who wittingly facilitate this trade.”

According to the Treasury, the nine entities in question have been facilitating the sale and shipment of products in Asia on behalf of Triliance Petrochemical Co. Ltd. The Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control previously designated Trilliance as a facilitator for the National Iranian Oil Company, which put it under the purview of US sanctions. As a result of these latest sanctions, any property or interest in property owned in the US by the named parties or their subsidiaries will be blocked. People who engage in business with the named parties could also face sanctions.

The Treasury hopes these actions will cut off revenue streams for the Iranian government and add to to the pressure from existing sanctions targeting Iran and Iran-based entities. Those sanctions have escalated since President Trump left the Iran nuclear agreement in 2018 and issued an executive order to reimpose the sanction regime that had been waived under the deal. Those sanctions have broadened as the US has started to impose additional sanctions on Iran related to Russia’s war in Ukraine.