The United States has imposed sanctions against Iran on several companies and vessels accusing them of facilitating Iranian oil shipments to China as part of Iran’s “shadow fleet.”
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Wednesday said it imposed sanctions on a China-based independent “teapot” refinery it accused of playing a role in purchasing more than $1 billion worth of Iranian crude oil.
“Any refinery, company, or broker that chooses to purchase Iranian oil or facilitate Iran’s oil trade places itself at serious risk,” said US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “The United States is committed to disrupting all actors providing support to Iran’s oil supply chain, which the regime uses to support its terrorist proxies and partners.”
The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement this action marks the sixth round of sanctions targeting Iranian oil sales since the US President Trump issued national security presidential memorandum 2, instituting a campaign of “maximum economic pressure on Iran.”
The sanctions target owners, ship managers, operators, technical managers and commercial operators, accusing them of managing a “shadow fleet of tankers that conduct ship-to-ship transfers to obfuscate Iran’s petroleum shipments to China.”
Additionally, five vessels are being identified as blocked property in which these entities have an interest.
OFAC said the vessels have shipped billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil, including to China-based refineries, generating “vital revenue for the Iranian regime and its proxies.”
The penalties aim to block them from using the U.S. financial system and prohibit American citizens from dealing with them.
As reported, violations of U.S. sanctions may result in the imposition of civil or criminal penalties on U.S. and foreign persons. OFAC may impose civil penalties for sanctions violations on a strict liability basis.
