US slaps sanctions on six Indian companies for oil trade with Iran
Six Indian companies are under the radar of the US Department of State. Their fault? They "engage in Iranian petroleum, petroleum products, or petrochemical trade". This violates American sanctions under Executive Order 13846. The US claims that the Iranian regime uses revenue to fuel conflict in the Middle East, fund terrorism, and oppress its people.
In a statement, the US Department of State spokesperson said, "The Iranian regime continues to fuel conflict in the Middle East to fund its destabilising activities. Today, the United States is taking action to stem the flow of revenue that the regime uses to support terrorism abroad, as well as to oppress its own people."
The US Department of State Wednesday announced sanctions on 20 entities, including six from India, for trading with Iran.
Six Indian companies
Alchemical Solutions Private Limited (Alchemical Solutions) faces the largest allegations, accused of importing and purchasing Iranian-origin petrochemical products worth over $84 million from multiple companies between January and December 2024.
Global Industrial Chemicals Limited (Global Industrial) is second on the list, accused of importing and purchasing Iranian products, including methanol, worth over $51 million between July 2024 and January 2025.
Jupiter Dye Chem Private Limited (Jupiter Dye Chem), an India-based petrochemical trading company, is accused of importing and purchasing Iranian-origin petrochemical products, including toluene, valued at over $49 million between January 2024 and January 2025
Ramniklal S Gosalia And Company (Ramniklal), another petrochemical company, allegedly imported and purchased Iranian products worth over $22 million, including methanol and toluene, between January 2024 and January 2025.
Persistent Petrochem Private Limited has imported approximately $14 million worth of shipments containing Iranian-origin petrochemicals, such as methanol, from multiple companies, including from Bab Al Barsha, a UAE-based commodities trading company, with shipping dates between October 2024 and December 2024, said the US.
Kanchan Polymers is said to have imported and purchased over $1.3 million worth of Iranian-origin petrochemical products, including polyethylene, from Tanais Trading.
All these Indian firms have been designated under section 3(a)(iii) of Executive Order 13846 for "knowingly engaging" in a significant transaction for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of petrochemical products from Iran.
Under the sanctions, all property and interests in property of these companies in the US or under the control of US persons are blocked. The sanction also blocks an entity or company which is 50 per cent or more owned by a person or company that is already blocked.
"All transactions by US persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons are prohibited unless authorised by a general or specific license issued by OFAC or exempt. These prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any blocked person and the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person," the Department said.
The US Department of State clarified that the goal of sanctions is "not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behaviour."
Sanctions on shipping empire tied to Iranian leaders
The United States on Wednesday slapped sanctions on a shipping empire controlled by the son of a top political advisor to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Treasury Department said the sanctions were being imposed on companies and vessels operated by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani, who has been subject to US sanctions since 2020.
It said Hossein operates a fleet of more than 50 tankers and container ships that transport Iranian and Russian oil and petroleum products, generating tens of billions of dollars in profit.
"The Shamkhani family's shipping empire highlights how the Iranian regime elites leverage their positions to accrue massive wealth and fund the regime's dangerous behavior," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
The Treasury Department said more than 115 individuals, corporate entities and vessels were being sanctioned, including companies based in Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and other countries.
"The over 115 sanctions issued today are the largest to-date since the Trump Administration implemented our campaign of maximum pressure on Iran," Bessent said.
The Treasury Department said Hossein's network "comprises a vast fleet of vessels, ship management firms, and front companies... that launder billions in profits from global sales of Iranian and Russian crude oil and other petroleum products, most often to buyers in China."
The State Department said separately that it was imposing sanctions on 20 entities, including companies in India, Indonesia, Turkey and the UAE, for their involvement in the trade of Iranian petroleum, and 10 vessels.
The sanctions are being imposed more than a month after the United States attacked Iran's nuclear program, hitting a uranium enrichment facility at Fordo, south of Tehran, as well as nuclear sites in Isfahan and Natanz.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said the sanctions are intended to "disrupt the Iranian regime's ability to fund its destabilizing activities, including its nuclear program, support for terrorist groups, and oppression of its own people."
"As President (Donald) Trump has said, any country or person who chooses to purchase Iranian oil or petrochemicals exposes themselves to the risk of US sanctions and will not be allowed to conduct business with the United States," Bruce said.
She said the United States will continue to put "maximum pressure" on Tehran until it "accepts a deal that advances regional peace and stability and in which Iran forgoes all aspirations of a nuclear weapon."–Agencies