U.S., UAE SANCTIONS
PLATTS - 19 Mar 2020 - The US sanctioned five UAE companies Thursday for facilitating Iran's oil and petrochemical sales, the latest in a targeted crackdown of Tehran's energy exports.
The US Treasury Department said the five companies collectively bought "hundreds of thousands of metric tons of petroleum products" from the National Iranian Oil Co. for delivery in the UAE. It said at least three of the companies falsified documents to conceal the Iranian origin of the shipments.
Treasury designated Petro Grand FZE, Alphabet International DMCC, Swissol Trade DMCC, Alam Althrwa General Trading LLC and Alwaneo LLC Co.
"The Trump administration will continue to target and isolate those who support the Iranian regime and remains committed to facilitating humanitarian trade and assistance in support of the Iranian people," Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.
The action comes after the US State Department named nine entities Wednesday under new sanctions for continuing to trade petrochemicals with Iran. It said the companies knowingly engaged in a "significant transaction for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport or marketing of petrochemical products from Iran."
In January, Treasury targeted companies based in Hong Kong, Dubai and Shanghai for their roles in facilitating hundreds of millions of dollars in crude oil, petrochemical and refined product exports from the National Iranian Oil Company.
The Trump administration's Iran sanctions cut across the energy and commodity sectors, including restrictions on oil trades that have slashed the country's crude and condensate exports.
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