The United States has announced sanctions on eight entities and nine vessels involved in Iran’s illicit petroleum trade.
The network moves hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iranian petroleum products, revenue the US believes is used to fund repression, security forces, missiles and foreign proxies.
US officials say the sanctions aim to deny the regime resources, while highlighting Iran’s economic crisis, including inflation, infrastructure decay, and shortages of water and electricity affecting citizens.
“As the Iranian people protest the Iranian regime’s catastrophic economic mismanagement, the regime continues to fund foreign proxies and missiles over the basic needs of Iranians. Massive inflation, crumbling infrastructure, and water and electricity shortages demonstrate that Iranians are not seeing their wealth put to good use,” the Iranian regime refuses to put Iranians first,” the US Department of State stated in a media release.
The action falls under Executive Order 13902 and National Security Presidential Memorandul-2, reinforcing Washington’s strategy to restrict Iran’s exports and curb destabilising activities.
“This latest action will further restrict Iran’s ability to export petroleum and petroleum products through obscure and fraudulent mechanisms, and will further constrain its ability to bankroll the repression of Iranians and international malign behaviour,” the US State Department stated.
