The United States said it will not ease pressure on Tehran until it ceases its support for terrorism, halts its nuclear ambitions, and ends its aggression.
The U.S. State and Treasury departments imposed a new wave of sanctions on Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical industry on Feb. 24, targeting more than 30 individuals, entities, and vessels involved in the illicit trade of Iranian oil.
The move, implementing part of President Donald Trump’s “Imposing Maximum Pressure on … Iran” executive order issued earlier this month, aims to disrupt Iran’s ability to fund terrorist organizations and destabilizing activities across the Middle East.
“Iran continues to rely on a shadowy network of vessels, shippers, and brokers to facilitate its oil sales and fund its destabilizing activities,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “The United States will use all our available tools to target all aspects of Iran’s oil supply chain, and anyone who deals in Iranian oil exposes themselves to significant sanctions risk.”
The State Department designated 16 entities and vessels as a “network of illicit shipping facilitators” that “obfuscates and deceives its role in loading and transporting Iranian oil for sale to buyers in Asia,” while the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 22 individuals and identified 13 vessels as blocked property. The targeted network spans multiple jurisdictions, including the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, India, and China.
Among those sanctioned is Hamid Bovard, Iran’s deputy minister of petroleum and head of the National Iranian Oil Company, a key player in underwriting the activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, according to the announcements.
The Iranian Oil Terminals Company, responsible for overseeing Iran’s oil exports, was also sanctioned, along with several of its executives and affiliated shipping companies.
The sanctions extend to UAE-based Petroquimico FZE and Hong Kong-based Petronix Energy Trading Ltd., both of which have facilitated multimillion-dollar transactions for Iranian crude oil. Several vessels, including the Panama-flagged Meng Xin and the Cook Islands-flagged Phoenix I, were identified as blocked property because of their role in transporting Iranian oil.
These actions follow the directives of Executive Orders 13902 and 13846, which specifically target Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors.
By Chase Smith
