Punishment for buying oil from Iran, US imposes sanctions on companies of India, Pakistan
Alliance Energy Private Limited, based in Lahore, Pakistan and India's Sai Saburi Consulting Services, based in New Delhi, have been sanctioned for their alleged role in the Iranian oil trade. According to OFAC, these companies were part of a network involved in secretly sending Iranian oil and petrochemical products, which violates US sanctions. Why are they sanctioned?
These sanctions are part of US President Donald Trump's 'maximum pressure' policy, which aims to reduce Iran's oil exports to zero and limit its nuclear programme, ballistic missile development and regional influence. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant said, 'We will continue to target Iran's sources of revenue and disrupt its access to financial resources that fuel its destabilizing activities.'
Pakistan's Alliance Energy Private Limited has already been blacklisted for violating US sanctions. Apart from this, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iran and Panama based companies and their operated ships have also been targeted. Sai Saburi Consulting Services is accused of acting as the commercial manager of two LPG tankers, Bateleur and Nile, which were involved in transporting Iranian oil. What is Iran's shadow fleet?
The US claims that Iran uses a 'shadow fleet' or 'dark fleet' to maintain its oil exports, which secretly transfer oil and petrochemical products. These ships often hide the origin of the oil through ship-to-ship transfers outside the territorial limits of ports. This type of trade mainly targets countries like China, which is Iran's largest oil buyer.
US sanctions on Iran have been in place since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, but they intensified after the Trump administration withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018. The main purpose of these sanctions is to stop Iran's nuclear and missile programmes and reduce its support to regional terrorist groups. In recent months, these sanctions have become more stringent after attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities by Israel and the US.
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