New sanctions on Iran are coming down the pipeline.
The U.S. Treasury and State Department have announced sanctions against a network of international companies. Those companies allegedly sold Iranian oil to China and other East Asian countries. That kind of sale violates U.S. oil sanctions on Iran.
The reported purchase involves hundreds of millions of dollars of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products.
According to the Treasury Department, the companies in question “used a web of Gulf-based front companies” to conceal the origin of the oil.
Some of the entities accused of the violation are located in Hong Kong. Others are based in Vietnam, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates.
The United States has kept sanctions on Iranian oil exports for years. But over the past two years, Chinese refineries have been buying large amounts of Iranian oil. Those purchases have helped keep Iran’s economy afloat.
After a failed attempt to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, the White House has said it would continue to use its sanctions powers to target Iran’s oil exports.