US targets network accused of facilitating Iranian oil shipments to China with sanctions

The U.S. Department of the Treasury on Thursday announced new sanctions on an international network of individuals and companies accused of facilitating Iranian oil shipments to China.

The sanctions will affect people and groups in numerous countries, including China, India and the United Arab Emirates. They will also target shadow fleet vessels and management companies that transported Iranian oil, according to the State Department.

“The Iranian regime remains focused on leveraging its oil revenues to fund the development of its nuclear program, to produce its deadly ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, and to support its regional terrorist proxy groups,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement Thursday.

“The United States is committed to aggressively targeting any attempt by Iran to secure funding for these malign activities,” he added.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the goal of the sanctions is to “disrupt illicit funding streams” that help fund Iranian armed forces and U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organizations, including Hamas and Hezbollah.

“We will use all tools at our disposal to hold the regime accountable for its destabilizing activities and pursuit of nuclear weapons that threaten the civilized world,” Bruce said in a statement.

The sanctions follow President Trump’s executive order on Tuesday directing the Treasury Department, in consultation with the State Department, to “identify and impose sanctions on key sectors of Iran’s economy.”

While signing the order, Trump told reporters that “we will see whether or not we can arrange or work out a deal with Iran,” whose nuclear program is rapidly developing.

“We don’t want to be tough on Iran,” Trump said. “We don’t want to be tough on anybody. But they just can’t have a nuclear bomb.”

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