US sanctions two tankers linked to Iranian armed forces and Houthis

"According to Ofac, Artura conducted STS transfers with Mehle (IMO: 9191711), which was sanctioned in January, also for ties to al-Jamal. In some instances, Artura obfuscated its identity by using the name of a different tanker, Sanan II, Ofac said. Both Kohana and Artura were also previously cited by New York-based advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran as involved in sanctioned Iranian trades. The blacklisting comes amid an apparent refocus by the US on Iran’s commodity exports linked to military and proxy financing in the aftermath of the October 7 atrocities and rising tensions in the Middle East."