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More than a dozen companies based in China, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were hit by U.S. sanctions on Thursday, accused of facilitating sales of Iranian petrochemicals and oil products to East Asian buyers.
The latest U.S. crackdown on Iranian oil smuggling comes as efforts to revive Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal stall and as Iranians continue to stage anti-government protests, tensions between Tehran and the West have grown.
Washington has increasingly targeted Chinese companies for exporting Iranian petrochemicals as prospects for reviving the nuclear deal dimmed.
The Treasury Department said in a statement that the 13 companies designated on Thursday represented companies subject to U.S. sanctions, including the National Iranian Oil Company and Sanlian Petrochemical Co.
“Today’s action is further evidence that Iran employs sophisticated sanctions evasion methods to illicitly sell oil and petrochemicals,” Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in a statement.
“The United States will continue to impose sanctions on those actors that facilitate these sales.”
The designations include the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong-based companies that the U.S. Treasury Department accuses of ties to Triliance Petrochemical Co. Ltd., the latest move against what Washington says the Hong Kong-based company evaded U.S. sanctions .
Dubai-based Access Technology Trading LLC, which the U.S. Treasury Department accuses of buying tens of millions of dollars worth of petrochemicals from U.S.-sanctioned Persian Gulf petrochemical industry businesses, was also targeted and shipped to China.
Also on the list is China-based East Asia Trading Import & Export Co Ltd, which Washington accuses of facilitating the delivery of oil to foreign customers by the National Iranian Oil Company and its marketing arm.
Thursday’s move freezes any U.S. assets of those designated and generally prohibits Americans from dealing with them. Those who conduct certain transactions with these companies are also at risk of sanctions.
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