US Issues Iran-Related Sanctions, Announces Seizure of Oil, Weapons Shipments

The U.S sanctioned 11 entities and five people in Iran, China and Singapore for illegally buying and selling Iranian oil, the Office of Foreign Assets Control said Oct. 29. The designations target entities for working with Hong Kong-based Triliance Petrochemical, sanctioned in January (see 2001230040), to “move funds generated” by the Iranian oil sales.

The announcement was made in conjunction with the Justice Department, which said it recently seized Iranian oil and weapons shipments to Venezuela and Yemen, respectively. The shipments, which were aimed at benefiting the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps-Qods Force, were seized by U.S. Navy ships in November 2019 and February 2020, the Justice Department said. The agency filed a forfeiture complaint for the two shipments Oct. 29.

The sanctions and the Justice Department forfeitures are part of the U.S.’s “broad program” to target Iran’s oil sector, said Elliott Abrams, special representative for Iran and Venezuela. “One of the things they do with that sector is they export gasoline to Venezuela,” Abrams said during an Oct. 29 call with reporters. “We want to interfere with that relationship.”

John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, called the action the “largest-ever civil seizure of fuel and weapons from Iran,” which included $40 million worth of oil sales. Demers also said the agency’s complaint details a “sophisticated scheme” by the IRGC to “secretly” fund its operations. “These cases highlight that enforcement of sanctions against Iran remains one of the department’s national security priorities,” Demers said during the call.