The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on Thursday that it would be sanctioning an international network that facilitated the shipment of millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
According to the OFAC, the oil was shipped on behalf of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS) and its sanctioned front company, Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars (Sepehr Energy). This action includes entities and individuals in multiple jurisdictions, including the PRC, India, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as well as several vessels.
According to the Treasury Department, Iran generates the equivalent of billions of dollars each year via oil sales to fund its destabilizing regional activities and support of multiple regional terrorist groups, including Hamas, the Houthis, and Hezbollah. The AFGS utilizes networks of foreign-based front companies and brokers to enable these oil sales and shipments.
“The Iranian regime remains focused on leveraging its oil revenues to fund the development of its nuclear program, to produce its deadly ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, and to support its regional terrorist proxy groups,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “The United States is committed to aggressively targeting any attempt by Iran to secure funding for these malign activities.”
Today’s action is being taken pursuant to the counterterrorism authority Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended by E.O. 13886 (“E.O. 13224, as amended”), and E.O. 13902, which provides authority to the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to identify and impose sanctions on key sectors of Iran’s economy. This action is consistent with the President’s February 4 National Security Presidential Memorandum directing the Treasury Department and other U.S. government agencies to enact maximum economic pressure on Iran in order to deny all paths to a nuclear weapon and counter Iran’s malign influence.
OFAC designated Sepehr Energy pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, on November 29, 2023, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL). OFAC designated MODAFL pursuant to E.O. 13224 on March 26, 2019 for providing material support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force. On October 11, 2024, the Secretary of the Treasury identified the petroleum and petrochemical sectors of the Iranian economy as subject to sanctions pursuant to section 1(a)(i) of E.O. 13902.