The United States on May 13 sanctioned a network that sold Iranian oil to China and used the proceeds to fund terrorist activities.
The State Department announced the sanctions on May 13, naming Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars as the front company facilitating billions of dollars’ worth of shipments of Iranian crude oil on to China on behalf of the Armed Forces General Staff of Iran.
This follows a White House memo instructing agencies related to national security on “denying Iran all paths to a nuclear weapon, and countering Iran’s malign influence.” Earlier this month, the House also voted to continue U.S. sanctions on Iran by repealing the sunset provision on a 1996 law. That bill is currently in a Senate committee.
According to the State Department, this network was using sales to China to fund the development of ballistic missiles, drones, nuclear development, and terrorist proxies “including the Houthis’ attacks on Red Sea Shipping, the U.S. Navy, and Israel.”
“As long as Iran devotes its illicit revenues to funding attacks on the United States and our allies, supporting terrorism around the world, and pursuing other destabilizing actions, we will continue to use all the tools at our disposal to hold the regime accountable,” the department stated.
Network
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned nearly two dozen groups as part of this network on May 13, the latest of 253 targets for their alleged part in Iran’s sanctioned oil trade.
“Today’s action underscores our continued focus on intensifying pressure on every aspect of Iran’s oil trade, which the regime uses to fund its dangerous and destabilizing activities,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “The United States will continue targeting this primary source of revenue, so long as the regime continues its support for terrorism and proliferation of deadly weapons.”
According to OFAC, Sepehr Energy controls three Hong Kong-based companies that act as fronts to broker and receive oil shipments for China. One of these companies, Star Energy, moved tens of millions of dollars for Sepehr Energy. Companies Xin Rui Ji and Milen Trading received shipments of oil at ports in China. The companies are meant to obfuscate the origin of Iranian oil, according to the Treasury Department, and have been sanctioned.
Sepehr Energy official Mohammad Khorasani Niasari, an Iranian national, was also sanctioned for allegedly managing Sepehr Energy’s finances to move money from these sales to Iranian military leadership.
CCIC Singapore was also sanctioned for “consistently” acting as a middleman in the sales to “conceal the oil’s Iranian origins,” through ship-to-ship transfers and potentially falsifying documents, according to OFAC. Its sister company Huangdao Inspection and Certification Co. provided similar services and was also sanctioned.
The latest round of sanctions also targets one Chinese, one Singaporean, and four Hong Kong-based intermediaries that help transport sanctioned Iranian oil to China’s “teapot,” or smaller, private refineries. These middlemen collectively delivered millions of barrels of Iranian oil from Sepehr Energy.
OFAC also named oil tankers under the flags of Cameroon, Panama, and Hong Kong, owned by companies based in Hong Kong and the Seychelles.
Nuclear Program
In February, President Donald Trump signed an order instructing the Treasury to impose “maximum pressure” on Iran to prevent the Islamic regime from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
It instructed the State Department to “implement a robust and continual campaign” with other agencies “to drive Iran’s export of oil to zero,” highlighting Iran’s exports to China.
The memo also ordered the attorney general to “investigate, disrupt, and prosecute” networks that are sponsored by Iran or Iranian terrorist proxies.
On May 11, U.S. and Iranian officials concluded a fourth round of talks about the nuclear program and said there would be additional negotiations.
Trump is visiting the Middle East from May 13 to 16, and on May 13 landed in Saudi Arabia, where he signed a $142 billion arms deal and announced the cessation of sanctions against Syria. The president will also be making stops in Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.