US Treasury tightens sanctions on Iran's oil network

WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (KUNA) -- The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on a network of front companies and shipping facilitators that bankroll the Iranian armed forces by selling crude oil. Following its defeat in the 12-Day War with Israel, Iran's military has increasingly come to rely on the sale of Iranian crude oil to supplement its annual budget and finance the rebuilding of its depleted forces, the Treasury said in a statement on Thursday.
"Today's action continues Treasury's campaign to cut off funding for the Iranian regime's development of nuclear weapons and support of terrorist proxies," said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.
"Disrupting the Iranian regime's revenue is critical to helping curb its nuclear ambitions," he noted.
OFAC today is also targeting six vessels, expanding sanctions on the shadow fleet of tankers Iran relies on to transport its oil exports to market.
The Trump Administration has sanctioned over 170 vessels responsible for shipping Iranian petroleum and petroleum products, driving up costs for Iranian oil exporters and reducing the revenue Iran receives for each barrel of oil sold. Lastly, OFAC is taking further action today against Iranian airline Mahan Air, which has worked closely with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) to arm and supply Iran-backed terrorist groups throughout the Middle East.
Mahan Air played a key role in the Iranian regime's efforts to arm the now-deposed regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad.
Today's action builds on recent sanctions taken in February and May targeting key enablers of Iran's military oil exports. Today's action is being taken primarily pursuant to the counterterrorism authority Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended, and E.O. 13902, which targets Iran's petroleum and petrochemical sectors.
It continues the robust sanctions campaign targeting Iranian oil sales in support of the President's National Security Presidential Memorandum 2 (NSPM-2), instituting maximum economic pressure on Iran. (end) asj.gb