US unveils new sanctions targeting Iran’s oil sales
The Biden administration on Thursday blacklisted entities in China, Hong Kong, Iran, India and the United Arab Emirates over their alleged involvement in Iran’s petrochemical trade.
The United States announced fresh sanctions Thursday on an international network of companies it says are involved in the sale of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated a group of brokers and front companies based in Hong Kong, Iran, India and the United Arab Emirates over their alleged involvement in Iran’s petrochemical trade.
The State Department also imposed sanctions on two China-based entities — Zhonggu Storage and Transportation Co. Ltd, which allegedly operates a commercial crude oil storage facility for Iranian petroleum, and WS Shipping Co Ltd, which the department described as the ship manager for a vessel that has transported Iranian petroleum products.
The sanctions come as efforts to revive the nuclear agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) remain deadlocked, mostly over Iran’s demand that the International Atomic Energy Agency close its years-old probes into uranium traces discovered at three of Iran’s undeclared nuclear sites.
