The United States has cleared the names of Israel's billionaire Ofer brothers, accused of dealing with Iran. They have died since the charges were made.
The U.S. State Department several months ago shocked Israel with sanctions against Ofer Brothers Group for allegedly docking ships in Iran and selling a tanker to the Islamic Republic, breaking American sanctions against dealing with Tehran.
The Israeli company and the Iranian firm that bought the ship denied the charges.
The State Department clarified on Tuesday that the Ofers were not targeted, too late for Sammy and Yuli Ofer ever to know because they since have passed away.
"The May 24 announcement of sanctions used the trade name 'Ofer Brothers Group,' which led to the conclusion by some banks and companies that we had intended to sanction all Ofer-owned companies," U.S. State Department spokesman Victoria Nuland said. She explained that the United States actually meant to slap sanctions against the specific companies involved in selling the tanker and not on the entire holding company.
“This action clears our name,” the company said in a statement. “Today’s formal clarification makes it clear that none of Ofer Holding Group Ltd., its subsidiaries or any other Israeli entity is subject to sanctions under the Iran Sanctions Act.”
The two companies involved have promised to prevent future dealings that would be a cause for sanctions.
The sanctions that had been placed against Ofer Brothers Group barred them for obtaining financing from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, from receiving loans from American banks and from receiving U.S. export licenses.