The US Treasury imposed sanctions on Thursday targeting individuals and entities involved in an international network accused of smuggling millions of barrels of Iranian oil to China. The scheme, according to the administration, funnels illicit revenue directly to the Iranian military, funding their destabilizing activities and potentially their nuclear weapons program. The sanctions aim to cripple Iran's ability to export oil, further tightening the economic grip on the theocratic regime.
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on Thursday on individuals linked to an international network accused of selling millions of barrels of Iran ian oil to China. The aim of these sales was to generate funds for Iran 's military. The State Department declared in a statement, 'The United States will not tolerate Iran ’s destructive and destabilizing behavior and is today sanctioning an international network that channels illicit revenue to the Iran ian military.
' The Treasury Department revealed that the illicit crude oil shipments identified by the Trump administration generated 'hundreds of millions of dollars' in revenue for the Iranian regime. This money is also utilized by Iran to fund its nuclear weapons program.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated, 'The Iranian regime remains focused on leveraging its oil revenues to fund the development of its nuclear program, to produce its deadly ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, and to support its regional terrorist proxy groups. The United States is committed to aggressively targeting any attempt by Iran to secure funding for these malign activities.' The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control discovered that Sepehr Energy and its affiliated companies falsified maritime documents to conceal the Iranian origin of the oil they traded and transported to China and other overseas buyers.The agency emphasized that this revenue stream generates 'billions of dollars' annually for the AFGS, which is used to finance Iran's military, proxies, and their destabilizing activities worldwide. The Iranian regime also took measures to 'hide the true name' of the Anthea, a Comoros-flagged and sanctioned oil tanker involved in the shipping scheme. The India-based company that supplied crews for the vessel also falsified documents presented to port authorities. The Treasury Department designated two other ships - the Panama-flagged CH Billion and the Hong Kong-flagged Star Forest - as acting as a 'shadow fleet' for Iran due to their role in transporting Iranian oil to China. The Office of Foreign Assets Control stated that 'As recently as January 2025, these vessels onboarded Iranian crude oil from storage in the PRC, part of a scheme involving Iran’s military, which stands to profit from the sale of the oil on these vessels.' These new sanctions follow Trump's signing of an executive order earlier this week to reimpose 'maximum pressure' on Tehran. As part of the order, Trump directed Bessent and Secretary of State Marco Rubio to tighten sanctions on the theocracy's oil sales and enforce violations of existing restrictions, aiming to reduce its exports to 'zero.
IRAN OIL SANCTIONS CHINA TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MILITARY FUNDING NUCLEAR PROGRAM ECONOMIC PRESSURE
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