Latest news with #IRGC-QF
UPI
09-07-2025
- Business
- UPI
U.S. Treasury sanctions more than 20 entities for helping sell Iranian oil
U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent (pictured in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., in June) said the "Iranian regime relies heavily on its shadow banking system" to fund its military objectives. File Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI | License Photo July 9 (UPI) -- The Trump administration announced Wednesday it has designated more than 20 entities as complicit in the facilitation of selling Iranian oil, which funds a paramilitary force considered a foreign terrorist organization by the United States. The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, has designated 22 companies and individuals located in Hong Kong, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates as complicit in enabling the sale of the oil, which OFAC reports provides funding for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, or IRGC-QF. By way of front companies outside Iran, OFAC accuses the IRGC-QF of transferring hundreds of millions of dollars through offshore accounts to avoid sanctions and to fund "terrorist activities." Refineries that purchase Iranian oil then transfer payments to these front companies, which also move money to accounts that belong to IRGC-QF. Iran then reportedly uses the cash to fund both its weapons programs and support terrorist partners and proxies elsewhere in the Middle East. "The Iranian regime relies heavily on its shadow banking system to fund its destabilizing nuclear and ballistic missile weapons programs, rather than for the benefit of the Iranian people," said U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in a press release. "[The] Treasury remains focused on disrupting this shadowy infrastructure that allows Iran to threaten the United States and our allies in the region." OFAC's action in regard to this activity falls under Executive Order 13224, first issued in 2001 by then-President George W. Bush, which "provides a means by which to disrupt the financial support network for terrorists and terrorist organizations by authorizing the U.S. government to designate and block the assets of foreign individuals and entities that commit, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism." The IRGC-QF was designated a terrorist organization in 2007 for its supporting of terrorist organizations, as was the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that same year for its support of IRGC-QF. Anyone who violates sanctions placed by the United States may face either criminal or civil penalties. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote in an X post Wednesday that "the Iranian regime relies heavily on its shadow banking system to fund its destabilizing nuclear and ballistic missile weapons programs, which threaten the United States and our allies in the region."
Shafaq News
09-07-2025
- Business
- Shafaq News
US sanctions 22 entities in 3 countries over IRGC ties
On Tuesday, the US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on 22 companies based in Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkiye for assisting the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF). According to the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the IRGC-QF relies on front companies and offshore accounts to channel hundreds of millions of dollars from illicit oil sales, which are used to fund weapons programs and support affiliated groups in the region. Among the sanctioned entities is Turkiye-based Pulcular Enerji, which coordinated oil purchases with IRGC-QF operatives and Hezbollah -linked brokers. 'Payments for these deals were processed through Hong Kong-based companies, including Amito Trading and Peakway Global,' OFAC added. Other firms, such as JTU Energy and Shelf Trading, played roles in moving oil revenues through sanctioned Iranian exchange houses. OFAC also designated Turkiye-based Golden Globe Demir Celik for acting as a front for Iran's oil operations. Several Hong Kong-based companies, including Future Resource Trading and Mist Trading, were directly involved in the sale of Iranian oil and petrochemicals, according to US officials. Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that the sanctions aim to disrupt Iran's financial networks, which support destabilizing activities across the region, and reaffirmed Washington's commitment to dismantling these systems.
The Hill
09-07-2025
- Business
- The Hill
US targets Iran ‘shadow banking' network with new sanctions
The United States on Wednesday announced a new round of sanctions targeting Iran's 'shadow banking' network involved in the illicit trade of Iranian oil designed to fund Tehran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF). The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the sanctions will target 22 entities based in Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey 'for their roles in facilitating the sale of Iranian oil that benefits' the IRGC-QF. The front companies are designed to help Iran circumvent U.S. sanctions by using offshore accounts to facilitate payments from refineries purchasing the sanctioned oil, according to the Treasury. Those funds, the department said, then get transferred to other front companies run by the IRGC-QF, which feed the revenue back to the Iranian government 'to fund its weapons programs and support its terrorist proxies and partners across the Middle East.' 'The Iranian regime relies heavily on its shadow banking system to fund its destabilizing nuclear and ballistic missile weapons programs, rather than for the benefit of the Iranian people,' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. 'Treasury remains focused on disrupting this shadowy infrastructure that allows Iran to threaten the United States and our allies in the region,' he added. Wednesday's announcement marks the second wave of sanctions announced targeting the Iranian 'shadow banking' network. The first round was announced on June 6. The announcement comes less than three weeks after the Trump administration launched airstrikes on three nuclear sites in Iran, an operation U.S. officials have described as a military success.
Memri
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Memri
Iranian Security Forces Fire On Women In Balochistan, Killing One, Injuring 11
On July 1, 2025, Iranian security forces opened fire on innocent and unarmed Baloch women in Gunich village in Karvandar Rural District in the Central District of Khash County in Balochistan. The unprovoked attack killed one Baloch woman, Khan Bibi Bamri, 40, a resident of Khash, and injured 11 others. Local Baloch sources say that the other 11 injured Baloch women were: Madina Bamri, 24; Saba Bamri, 17; Esra Bamri, 18; Rahm Bibi Bamri, 32; Sanj Malek Bamri, 45; Asal Bamri, 20; Mohaddesa Bamri, 16; Mahtab Bamri, 50; Fatima Bamri, 26; Lali Bamri, 40; and Rayhane Bamri, a 21-year-old pregnant woman who miscarried after being beaten by officers and hit by a shotgun. The Iranian occupying forces killed one Baloch woman and injured 11 others. (Source: CIA) Protests By Baloch Women Baloch women responded to the attack by Iranian forces by blocking roads with burning tires in protest. Click here or below to view footage of Baloch women protesting the Iranian security forces attack against them. The Iranian forces, which suffered a military defeat under Israeli and U.S. airstrikes, retaliated after the ceasefire by massacring Baloch civilians. This attack is a clear example of the brutality of the Iranian forces, who have been weakened by aggression from powerful countries and whose crimes against Baloch civilians momentarily pause during such external conflicts. The Iranian occupying forces – including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and other intelligence agencies – have made life unbearable for the Baloch people for several decades. In the coastal regions of Balochistan, Iranian forces have been carrying out large-scale, undeclared operations. On the orders of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, the IRGC is harassing Baloch communities in Chabahar, Zahedan, Khash, and other coastal areas. Homes that have stood for centuries are being demolished to pave the way for a strategic plan that includes relocating the capital of Iran from Tehran to Chabahar. The attack in Khash is yet another example of the collective punishment being inflicted by the Iranian occupying regime on the Baloch nation – a campaign that has intensified following the Iran-Israel war. In the wake of a ceasefire between Iran and Israel, Ayatollah Khamenei's regime has launched a brutal crackdown against the Kurds and Baloch in Iranian-occupied Balochistan. Baloch civilians are being abducted from their homes, killed in staged encounters, and detained without trial, in blatant violation of international law. The Baloch May Extend Protests To A Nationwide Movement By Aligning With Kurds, Ahwazi Arabs, And Other Non-Persian Ethnic Groups The July 1 killing of a Baloch woman and injury of 11 others has sparked a wave of outrage across Iranian-occupied Balochistan, with the Baloch nation rising in widespread protest. Reports of shutter-down strikes and road blockades are pouring in from various areas. The secular Baloch uprising against the Iranian occupying forces signals the emergence of a new revolution. If Iranian oppression continues unchecked, the Baloch may expand their resistance into a nationwide movement by aligning with the Kurds, Ahwazi Arabs, and other non-Persian ethnic groups – a movement that could ultimately lead to the fall of the Iranian regime and contribute to lasting peace and stability within the region.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
U.S. sanctions Chinese refinery importing Iranian oil
April 16 (UPI) -- The U.S Treasury Department on Wednesday announced sanctions on a Chinese refinery for allegedly importing more than a billion dollars in Iranian oil. The Treasury sanctioned Handong Shengxing Chemical Company, which it said is a front for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force. "Any refinery, company, or broker that chooses to purchase Iranian oil or facilitate Iran's oil trade places itself at serious risk," said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent in a statement. "The United States is committed to disrupting all actors providing support to Iran's oil supply chain, which the regime uses to support its terrorist proxies and partners." Also sanctioned were several companies and vessels Treasury said are responsible for facilitating Iranian oil shipments to China as part of Iran's "shadow fleet." The ships Nyantara, and Reston were sanctioned for allegedly transporting Iranian petroleum. Other alleged "shadow fleet" vessels sanctioned include the Egret, the Bestla and the Rani. They have shipped billions of dollars worth of Iranian oil, according to the Treasury Department. Companies alleged to operate those ships were also sanctioned. They include Panama-based Oceanic Orbit; Malaysia-based Pro Mission SDN BHD, Marshall Islands-based Bestla Company Limited; Hong-Kong-based Dexiang Shipping Co.; Panama-based Civic Capital Shipping; and Starboard Shipping Inc. According to the Treasury Department between March 2020 and January 2023, Shandong Shengxing sent over $800 million in wire transfers to China Oil and Petroleum Company. Treasury alleges that China Oil is actually a front company for the IRGC-QF that has "laundered billions through the U.S. financial system in support of the IRGC-QF, $108 million of which was seized by the Justice Department." In March, the Treasury Department sanctioned Shandong Shouguang Luqing Petrochemical Co. Ltd., another alleged Chinese 'teapot" refinery for importing Iranian oil. The company's legal representative and chief executive officer Wang Xueqing was also sanctioned.
