US Sanctions Individuals and Groups Involved in Export of Iranian Crude Oil to China

Mnuchin: Blocking Iran's Funding for Terrorist Support

The second Trump administration, which has announced the resumption of maximum pressure on Iran, has announced its first sanctions against Iran.

On the 6th (local time), the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against individuals, entities, and oil tankers involved in exporting Iranian crude oil to China.

According to OFAC, Iran uses billions of dollars in annual oil sales revenue to support activities that destabilize the region and to back pro-Iran armed groups such as Hamas (Palestine), Houthi (Yemen), and Hezbollah (Lebanon). In this process, Iran is believed to be conducting oil sales and shipping activities through a network of ghost companies and intermediaries based abroad. Accordingly, OFAC designated ghost company Sefer Energy and various entities, individuals, and oil tankers across jurisdictions including China, India, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) as targets of sanctions.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin stated, "The Iranian regime remains focused on using oil revenues to fund the development of its nuclear program, the production of powerful ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, and support for terrorist organizations in the region," adding, "The United States will actively block all Iranian attempts to finance these malicious activities."

This is the first time the U.S. has imposed sanctions on Iran during the second Trump administration. Earlier, on the 4th, President Trump signed a presidential memorandum declaring that Iran must not possess nuclear weapons and outlining the resumption of maximum pressure on Iran. The memorandum also included a directive to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero (0). However, President Trump expressed willingness to negotiate, saying, "I hope that negotiations with Iran can succeed so that everyone can live together." In this regard, Masoud Pezeshkian, an Iranian official, stated on the same day, "We do not seek nuclear weapons."