The State Department and the Treasury Department both announced new sanctions on Iran’s oil trade yesterday despite ongoing negotiations to reach a deal to end the conflict.
“The Department of State is sanctioning numerous entities, individuals, and vessels that form the backbone of Iran’s illicit oil economy, directly targeting the financial lifelines of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Iran’s military apparatus,” the State Department said in a statement.
The IRGC is the most powerful military, political and economic force in Iran.
The Treasury sanctions will target “key players in an oil sales network that has moved tens of millions of barrels of Iranian oil worth billions of dollars.”
“These Hong Kong-based entities have facilitated the storage, transport, and sale of this oil, directly funding the IRGC, Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff, and its military apparatus,” the statement read.