The US Treasury Department slapped sanctions on a network of six individuals and four companies for evading the US-imposed oil sanctions on Iran.
The latest action targeted Seyed Seyyedi, an Iranian businessman and the director of Sima General Trading, a network of companies based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) that Seyyedi controls, and representatives of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) and the Naftiran Intertrade Company (NICO) Sarl based in Britain and Switzerland, reports Xinhua.
The four companies listed for the latest sanctions include the UAE-based KASB International, Petro Royal and AA Energy, all controlled by Seyyedi, and Swiss Management Services Sarl, which is employed by NICO Sarl for its operations on behalf of Iran, the Treasury Department said.
In addition to Seyyedi, Mohmmad Moinie, commercial director of the Switzerland-based NICO Sarl, Reza Parsaei and Seyyed Mohamad Ali Khatibi Tabatabaei, co-directors of the NICO International Affairs (London), and Seyed Mohaddes and Mohammed Ziracchian Zadeh, co-directors of the NIOC (UK), were also targets of the sanctions.
The US government has accused Tehran of using front companies, businessmen and financial institutions to engage in deceptive transactions that cover the Iranian government's involvement in oil trade and avoid the US-led sanctions.
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Under the imposed sanctions, transactions by US citizens or through the US with any of these individuals and companies are generally prohibited, and any assets they may have under US jurisdiction are blocked.
The US has imposed economic sanctions on Iran over its alleged programme to make a nuclear weapon, though Tehran insists that the programme is solely for the purpose of scientific research and civilian energy use.