US issues sanctions on Iranian oil shipments to Syria and East Asia, by Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday sanctioned more than a dozen entities and vessels for their involvement in transporting Iranian petroleum gas and liquids to Syria and East Asia on behalf of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and Hezbollah.

Four ships associated with the fleet of Syrian shipping magnate Abdul Jalil Mallah, who was sanctioned by the US in 2021, and his brother Luay al-Mallah were among the vessels included in Wednesday’s action, the Treasury Department said in – a statement. Luay al-Mallah was designated under US sanctions on Wednesday.

The brothers “continued to use their shipping empire to support the malign activities of Iran and its proxies,” the Treasury said.

“Iran continues to rely heavily on the illicit sale of oil and petroleum liquids by the (Revolutionary Guards) and Lebanese Hezbollah to fund its terrorist proxies and destabilizing activities,” Bradley T. Smith, Treasury’s Acting Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, the release said.