US Sanctions Syrian Company and 13 Tankers Involved with Iranian Oil Trade
The Biden administration is continuing to use sanctions to pressure Iran and target the sources of funding for both Iran and the Houthis. Today the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced its newest additions to the sanctions targeting a Syrian-based conglomerate as part of 26 companies and 11 tankers that it says has become one of the main channels through which money is being raised through the sale of oil to Syria and East Asia including China.
The company, Al-Qatirji based in Syria, the U.S. highlights has been listed since September 2018. It however has grown to become the center of a large ring and one of the primary sources for funneling money to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and to the Houthis. The U.S. asserts this company exports millions of barrels of Iranian oil and is also involved in money laundering through cities such as Istanbul and Beirut.
“Iran is increasingly relying on key business partners like the Al-Qatirji Company to fund its destabilizing activities and web of terrorist proxies across the region,” said Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith announcing today’s actions. “Treasury will continue to take all available measures to restrict the Iranian regime’s ability to profit from the illicit schemes that enable its dangerous regional agenda.”
As part of the action, Treasury cited 13 tankers involved in the trade with registries ranging from Iran to Guyana, Palau, Panama, and Barbados. The U.S. reports that the Al-Qatirji Company has coordinated shipments using these vessels. The company is the beneficial owner of four of the tankers but offered them to the IRGC-QF to settle tens of millions of dollars worth of debt.
In addition, the sanctions are also targeting the listed owners and managers of the vessels. Those companies range from incorporation in Lebanon to Panama, Iran, and the Marshall Islands. Hussam Bin Ahmed Rushdi Al-Qatirji who the U.S. says is the leader of the company and who has met with senior officials of the IRGC-QF as well as other financial supporters is included in today’s sanctions. He is being designated for a range of transactions including brokering the Syrian regime’s oil trade with the terrorist group ISIS. Other executives from the company are also being listed.
The Biden administration has stepped up efforts to target Iran and the efforts used to fund its proxy groups in the region especially since the Houthis commenced their attacks on merchant shipping. The incoming Trump administration is expected to build on and expand these and other efforts to further pressure the Iranian regime.