U.S. Imposes New Sanctions to Punish Iran and Syria

On Tuesday, Washington announced that it would impose additional sanctions on Iran and Syria for their alleged illicit oil trade scheme.

Before the Tuesday action, U.S. sanctions against Iran allowed for a number of exemptions for medical products and devices. The new ban specifically punished Syrian citizen Mohammad Amer Alchiwiki and the Russian state-owned enterprise—Global Vision Group—that he was affiliated with. Seven other individuals and groups were also the targets of the sanctions.

For instance, the U.S. accused the subsidiary of the Russian Ministry of Energy and its Russian employee of illegally funneling millions of barrels of Iranian oil to Syrian across Russian soil.

Those involved in the scheme set up a fake company in Iran under the pretense of a regular medical business. They then used the company to transfer Iranian money to a government-owned bank account in Russia. The money was indeed Syria’s payment to Russia for oil. After receiving the money, Russian officials would deliver oil barrels to Syria, turning off tracking devices on their ships in order to conceal the illicit trade.

The White House asserted that America had “zero tolerance for the use of seemingly humanitarian entities to disguise illicit transactions” and believed the scheme was a proof of how the Iranian government and its national economy lacked basic transparency.

Even though the sanctions were directed at Syrian and Iranian entities, it was clear that Russia was heavily implicated in the case and the sanctions aimed to diminish its role in the region.

“Today we are acting against a complex scheme Iran and Russia have used to bolster the Assad regime and generate funds for Iranian malign activity,” Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement. “The United States is committed to imposing a financial toll on Iran, Russia, and others for their efforts to solidify Assad’s authoritarian rule, as well as disrupt the Iranian regime’s funding of terrorist organizations.”

The administration also issued a warning against Russia, urging the latter to stop playing “any kind of constructive, forward-leaning role” in Syria.

As a response, Russia’s Foreign Ministry published a statement and sharply criticized the new actions: “Attempts to indict oil supply assistance to Syria, whose armed forces have been fighting terrorist aggression for eight years, look like a statement of support for terrorists.”

Moscow also highlighted the sanctions’ destructive effects on Syria as a conflict-torn country desperate for oil supply. Officials claimed that they would “prevent the restoration of a ravaged country, many of whose inhabitants are deprived of light and heat.”

“Does the US really want this?” they asked.

The ministry described continued U.S. efforts to impose sanctions as “clumsy.” “In trying to put pressure on Russia, Washington repeatedly demonstrates its inability to make our country change its independent line on the world stage,” read the statement. “American politicians should start to get out of the captivity of illusions about the ‘omnipotence’ of the United States, in which they convinced themselves. Self-deception is dangerous.”

Featured image via AFP