UANI Applauds New Oil Related Sanctions And Calls For Additional Action

(New York, N.Y.) – United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace released the following statement today after the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that it was imposing sanctions on a network of individuals and entities facilitating the sale of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products. Several of those sanctioned have been tracked by UANI in its ongoing Stop The Hop campaign, a compilation of vessels suspected to have been involved in the transfer of illicit Iranian crude oil and petroleum products.   

“UANI applauds the Biden administration for implementing these sanctions, cutting off a vital pathway for the sale of illicit Iranian oil and petrochemicals. The U.S. must continue to remain vigilant in exposing the regime’s countless sanctions evasion schemes. Sanctions such as those doled out by OFAC means Tehran has fewer means that it can turn to in order to fund its nuclear program and terror proxies. 

“These sanctions, however, mark only a fraction of those who are complicit, knowingly or otherwise, in enabling Iran’s illicit sanctions evasions scheme. The two vessels sanctioned today, BS BRAVO and SUMMER 5, are linked to Truong Phat Loc Shipping Trading company. UANI had previously flagged the two vessels’ behavior to their flag state, Panama; classification society, Nippon Kaiji Kyokai; and Protection & Indemnity (P&I) club, Hydor AS – only the P&I club made the responsible decision to withdraw its coverage for the vessels. For sanctions to be effective, all verticals of the maritime industry must play their part in due diligence, and the U.S. must hold them accountable for doing more.  

“UANI maintains a list of 210 vessels that it suspects of being involved in the illicit transfer of Iranian oil. Several of the companies sanctioned today, Everwin Ship Management and Truong Phat Loc have been tied to even more vessels. Others, including the company Emerald Global FZE and individuals Morteza Rajabieslami and Mahdieh Sancuhuli, are tied to the vessel ARINA, which the U.S. seized Iranian oil from earlier this year, worth $38 million.”    

In November 2020, UANI identified 70 foreign vessels suspected of involvement in the illicit transfer of Iranian crude oil and/or petroleum products. Now the list has more than doubled to 210 foreign vessels. 

To read UANI’s blog post, Stop The Hop II: The Rogue Armada Grows, please click here.

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