Described as a key move in US President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure campaign” against Iran’s oil industry, his administration imposed new sanctions Monday on individuals and entities in mainland China, Hong Kong and India for allegedly helping Iran finance militant groups that target the US and its allies.
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The sanctions from the US Treasury and State Departments target more than 30 individuals, entities and vessels accused of brokering the sale and transport of Iranian petroleum products.
This included Hong Kong-based oil broker Petronix Energy Trading Ltd. According to a Treasury Department notice, Petronix “purchased hundreds of thousands of metric tons of Iranian oil from sanctioned Naftiran Intertrade Co”.
On February 4, Trump signed an executive order mandating efforts to “drive Iran’s oil exports to zero” and reinforcing the goal that Iran “can never be allowed to acquire or develop nuclear weapons”.
The State Department said the action “marks a crucial step in advancing President Trump’s campaign of maximum pressure on the Iranian regime”, adding that “it disrupts Iran’s efforts to generate oil revenues to fund terrorist activities”.
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“As long as Iran devotes its energy revenues to financing attacks on our allies, supporting terrorism around the world, or pursuing other destabilising actions, we will use all the tools at our disposal to hold the regime accountable”, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said.