Washington D.C., 7 July 2022 (TDI): The United States has imposed trade sanctions on Iranian petroleum and petrochemical producers, transporters, and front companies.
The Secretary of the State, Antony J. Blinken, announced these restrictions on Iran due to a lack of commitment from Iran on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The statement added that the US has been sincere and steadfast in pursuing a path of meaningful diplomacy to achieve a joint return to fully implementing JCPOA.
According to the official statement, the US also identified and designated fifteen “individuals and entities” from gulf based network. The recognized companies are engaged in illicit sales and shipment of Iranian petroleum, petroleum, and petrochemical products to support the Iranian energy trade.
Furthermore, the Department stated that companies located in Iran, Vietnam, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Hong Kong generated millions of dollars “worth of illicit” revenue from these activities.
This list also includes companies in Vietnam, Singapore, and the Persian Gulf, which are accountable according to Executive order 13846.
Earlier, the negotiations between Iran and US ended with no clear conclusion in Qatar. Moreover, the US aims to continue sanctions authorities to target petroleum, petroleum products, and petrochemical products from Iran.
Mutual return to compliance
The Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian E. Nelson, issued a statement according to which, the US is committed to achieving an agreement with Iran. The purpose is to ensure a joint return to compliance with JCPOA.
In addition, the US also aims to deploy all authorities to enforce sanctions on selling Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals.
According to the US Treasury Department, Jam Petrochemical Company (JPC) exported hundreds of thousands of metric tons of petrochemical products, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, to companies throughout East Asia.
Also, the company is responsible for using front bank accounts. In addition, it also facilitated obfuscation of the shipment and sales of Iranian petrochemical products. The sanctions particularly targetted the alleged front companies in China and the UAE for petroleum trade with Iran.
Further, the list includes Edgar Commercial Solutions FZE, Lustro Industry Limited, Oliger International Trading Co. Limited, Ali Almutawa Petroleum and Petrochemical Trading L.L.C, Petrokick LLC, and Triliance Petrochemical Co. Ltd.
