The United States (US) on Thursday slapped sanctions on several international firms, including Indian and Chinese companies, that have been helping Iran evade sanctions.
The US Department of Treasury sanctioned “an international network of companies involved in the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum products to end users in South and East Asia.” The department said its action targets Iranian brokers and several front companies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), China, and India “that have facilitated financial transfers and shipping of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products.”
“These entities have played a critical role in concealing the origin of the Iranian shipments and enabling two sanctioned Iranian brokers […] to transfer funds and ship Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals to buyers in Asia,” the Treasury said in a statement. The two Iranian brokers in question are Triliance Petrochemical and Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry Commercial Co. (PGPICC).
India-based petrochemical company Tibalaji Petrochem Private Limited has purchased millions of dollars’ worth of Triliance-brokered petrochemical products, including methanol and base oil, for onward shipment to China: Treasury Department
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) September 30, 2022
The US is committed to “severely restricting Iran’s illicit oil and petrochemical sales,” Brian E. Nelson, the Treasury’s secretary of terrorism and financial intelligence, remarked. He asserted that so long as Iran refuses to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, the US “will continue to enforce its sanctions on the sale of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products.”
“Anyone involved in facilitating these illegal sales and transactions should cease and desist immediately if they wish to avoid US sanctions,” the statement asserted. Furthermore, it mentioned that the US took action due to the ongoing anti-hijab protests in Iran. However, it emphasised that these sanctions are reversible if Iran returns to compliance with the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The Treasury noted that Triliance is a “critical component” of Iran’s petroleum sector and brokers the sale of millions of dollars worth of Iranian products to foreign purchasers. It said the broker primarily supplied petrochemical products to Indian, Chinese, and Emirati companies that helped transport the products to China.
🇮🇷🇺🇸 US Treasury Dept's OFAC: "As #Iran continues to accelerate its nuclear program in violation of the #JCPOA, we will continue to accelerate our enforcement of sanctions on Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sales under authorities that would be removed under the JCPOA." #oott
— Nader Itayim | نادر ایتیّم (@ncitayim) September 29, 2022
The Treasury thus sanctioned India-based company Tibalaji Petrochemical, a Hong Kong-based front company Sierra Vista, and four Emirati companies for helping Triliance facilitate Iran-China trade. Similarly, it sanctioned two more Hong Kong-based firms for assisting PGPICC in selling tens of millions of dollars worth of petrochemical products to Beijing.
Additionally, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced on Monday that the State Department had sanctioned two Chinese companies—Zhonggu Storage and Transportation and WS Shipping—responsible for transporting Iranian petroleum products to China.
In June, Washington sanctioned Triliance and several other front companies for helping Tehran sell petrochemical products. The department imposed restrictions on two Chinese companies, four Emirati companies, and Indian national Mohammad Shaheed Ruknooddin Bhore for managing Triliance’s front companies.
🧵Senior State Dept official: We've hit a wall because of Iran's position, and I think their position is so unreasonable in terms of what they're asking for with regards to the IAEA probe into the unexplained presence of traces of uranium particles. 1/
— Laura Rozen (@lrozen) September 23, 2022
Meanwhile, talks to revive the JCPOA between Iran and world powers are in limbo as Tehran refuses to rejoin the deal unless the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) suspends its investigation into undeclared uranium traces found at nuclear sites across the country. Moreover, the IAEA has claimed that Tehran has continued to accelerate its nuclear programme.
In its most recent report, the watchdog noted that Tehran has enriched enough near-weapons grade uranium to produce a nuclear bomb in weeks. The report said Iran has a large stockpile of 60% enriched uranium to produce the minimum weapons-grade level of 25 kilograms of 90% enriched uranium.