US Sanctions Iran Energy Sector for Attack on Israel
The sanctions illustrate the international scope of Iran’s oil trade, as well as the smuggling operations that support it.
WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) On Friday, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced that the U.S. was imposing new sanctions ”to more effectively target Iran’s energy trade.”
The new measures were being imposed, as Sullivan explained, in response to Iran’s “reckless” ballistic missile attack against Israel on Oct. 1.
“This attack targeted Israel’s most populated city, Tel Aviv, and could have killed hundreds, if not thousands, of innocent people,” Sullivan said, but “fortunately, the attack was defeated and rendered ineffective thanks to the U.S. military working in partnership with Israeli Defense Forces.”
Sullivan explained that the U.S. had consulted “allies and partners,” including a phone call between President Biden and his counterparts in the G7 [Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, and United States.]
The new sanctions, Sullivan explained, “include measures against the ‘Ghost Fleet’ that carries Iran’s illicit oil to buyers around the world.”
“These measures,” he continued, “will help further deny Iran financial resources” to finance “its missile programs and provide support for terrorist groups that threaten the United States, its allies, and partners.”
This perspective marks a sharp turn from that which the Biden administration held, when it first came into office. Then, along with the European Union (EU), it believed that its predecessor, the Trump administration, was responsible for the strained ties with Iran.
In a coordinated effort, both the U.S. and EU sought then to repair those through a conciliatory posture, which included their attempt to renew the 2015 nuclear deal that was negotiated under President Barack Obama and which Trump left in 2018.
However, that diplomatic effort proved unsuccessful, and the U.S. position has changed very significantly.
While the new sanctions were precipitated by Iran’s Oct. 1 attack on Israel, Israel has also said it will respond militarily. It is discussing its response with the Biden administration, which seeks to limit the conflict as much as possible. It is, thus, likely that the new U.S. sanctions are part of that dialogue.
The New Sanctions
The State and Treasury Departments together announced new sanctions on 16 companies and 23 ships, the so-called “Ghost Fleet,” which is used to covertly transport Iranian oil.
The sanctions illustrate the international scope of Iran’s oil trade, as well as the smuggling operations that support it. The wide scope of the sanctions also underscore the difficulty in monitoring Tehran’s evasion of sanctions.
Much of the smuggled oil, according to a statement from Secretary of State Antony Blinken, is refined in China. Two of the companies sanctioned on Friday are based in Hong Kong. A third company is located in both Hong Kong and China, while another has branches in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates (UAE.)
Another four of the sanctioned companies are located in Central and South America—one in Panama and three in Surinam.
Two companies are located in Malaysia, and two more are in the Marshall Islands, which lies in the western Pacific Ocean. A fifth is in India; a sixth is in the African country of Liberia, and two more are in the UAE.
Of the 23 ships that were sanctioned, six fly Panamanian flags. Another three bear flags from Barbados, an island in the eastern Caribbean. Three African countries—Cameroon, Eswatini, and Sao Tome and Principe—each have one flagged tanker on the list, while the remainder of the sanctioned ships generally carry flags of obscure island countries, like the Cook Islands and Palau, both in the South Pacific.