The United States has imposed sanctions on six companies and multiple vessels for helping Iran sell and transport oil and petrochemical products. The blacklisted firms include those based in Pakistan, India, the UAE, and Panama. Washington says this step is part of its broader effort to apply economic pressure on Tehran and block its oil exports.
The sanctions were announced by the US State Department and the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Officials said the targeted network helped Iran secretly move petroleum products, violating long-standing US sanctions on its energy sector.
One of the sanctioned firms is SAI Saburi Consulting Services, based in New Delhi. It managed two LPG tankers, BATELEUR and NEEL. According to the US Treasury, BATELEUR transported Iranian oil in 2022 on behalf of Alliance Energy Co., which was already sanctioned earlier.
Alliance Energy Pvt Ltd, based in Lahore, Pakistan, is also on the new sanctions list. The US believes it played a direct role in facilitating the sale and transport of Iranian oil, expanding the scope of enforcement beyond the Middle East.
This move comes shortly after US and Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. Officials say the sanctions are meant to cut off Iran’s oil income and push back against its nuclear ambitions, as part of Washington’s “maximum pressure” campaign.