US sanctions 11 businesses for helping Iran export oil products

The US has an embargo in place on Iranian oil exports. (AFP/File)

• US Treasury said it had designated six entities in various countries for supporting Triliance Petrochemical

LONDON: The US imposed sanctions on 11 businesses on Thursday, which it accused of helping Iran bypass a ban on oil exports.
The US Treasury said it had designated six entities in various countries for supporting Triliance Petrochemical, a company already sanctioned for selling petroleum products.
The State Department also imposed sanctions on five entities and three people for “knowingly engaging in a significant transaction for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of petroleum or petroleum products from Iran.”
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said: “Iran must stop exploiting its natural resources to fund terror and destruction across the region.”
Triliance Petrochemical, a Hong Kong-based broker, was sanctioned in January for transferring exports from the National Iranian Oil Company.
“The Iranian regime uses revenue from petrochemical sales to continue its financing of terrorism and destabilizing foreign agenda,” said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. “The Trump administration remains committed to targeting those contributing to Iran’s attempts to evade US sanctions by facilitating the illicit sale of Iranian petroleum products around the world.”