The United States has imposed sanctions on six companies and several vessels involved in the sale and transportation of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products, including firms based in India and Pakistan. This move is part of the ongoing effort to increase economic pressure on Iran.
The sanctions, announced by the US State Department and the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), focus on a network of shipping and management companies accused of assisting Iran in covertly transporting oil and petrochemicals in violation of US sanctions.
This action follows recent US and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and underscores Washington’s commitment to continuing the “maximum pressure” policy initiated under the Trump administration.
The sanctions include SAI Saburi Consulting Services, a New Delhi-based firm that managed two LPG tankers, BATELEUR and NEEL. The Treasury Department noted that in September 2022, BATELEUR transported petroleum products from Iran for Alliance Energy Co., which had already been sanctioned.
Alliance Energy Pvt Ltd, based in Lahore, Pakistan, was also targeted for its involvement in the Iranian oil trade, further escalating the US enforcement of sanctions.
Additional sanctions were placed on companies in the UAE, Iran, and Panama, along with the vessels they operate.
