Washington, DC – The United States has imposed sanctions on companies and ships allegedly involved in trading and transporting Iranian oil, to punish Tehran for its recent missile attack on military sites in Israel.
The U.S. Treasury and State Department announced the sanctions Friday, as Israeli officials continue to pledge to respond forcefully to the Iranian attack.
Tehran fired a barrage of missiles at Israel on October 1 in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and the assassinations of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and an Iranian general in Beirut.
“In the wake of Iran’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 1, the United States made clear that we will impose consequences on Iran for its actions,” said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a press release.
“To that end, we are taking action today to disrupt the flow of revenue that the Iranian regime uses to fund its nuclear program and missile development, support terrorist proxies and partners, and perpetuate conflict throughout the Middle East . »
The measures adopted Friday add Iran’s oil and petrochemical industries to the list of sectors that Washington says Tehran uses to finance its ballistic missiles and nuclear programs, authorizing new sanctions against them.
But Iranian oil and petrochemicals are already subject to heavy US sanctions.
The most recent sanctions appear aimed at strengthening enforcement of Iranian export restrictions, while sending a message of support to Israel following the missile attack.
The State Department said U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration “is issuing a decision that will lead to the imposition of sanctions against anyone determined to operate in the oil or petrochemical sectors of the Iranian economy.”
The State Department sanctioned six entities and six vessels on Friday, while Treasury targeted 17 vessels.
The vessels are registered in the United Arab Emirates, China and Panama, among others.
The sanctions will freeze the assets of these entities in the United States and generally make financial transactions with them illegal for Americans.
The region continues to anticipate the Israeli response to the attack, amid fears of a spiraling escalation that could drag the entire Middle East into all-out war.
Last week, Biden suggested that Israel should refrain from striking Iranian nuclear facilities or oil fields, but the Israeli government has repeatedly defied Biden’s public warnings in the past.
“The Israelis have not yet decided what they are going to do. It’s under discussion,” Biden told reporters last week.
“If I were in their place, I would think about alternatives other than striking Iranian oil fields. »
On Thursday, a spokesperson for Kataib Hezbollah, an Iraqi group allied with Iran, warned that if an “energy war” were to break out, “the world would lose” about 12 million barrels of oil per day, or about 10 percent. of world production. The spokesperson did not provide further details.
A military attack on Iran’s oil sector could send global prices soaring and prove costly for U.S. consumers, hurting the electoral chances of Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.
Earlier this week, Harris said Iran was the United States’ “greatest adversary,” while reaffirming her “unwavering” support for Israel.
Biden spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday and also reaffirmed his “ironclad” support for the US ally.
U.S. officials portrayed the Iranian missile attack on Israel as unprovoked, although Haniyeh was assassinated on Iranian soil in an attack widely blamed on Israel in late July.
Asked after Haniyeh’s assassination whether Iran “as a sovereign nation” has the right to defend itself, State Department spokesman Vedant Patel dismissed the question, accusing Tehran of actions “destabilizing” in the region.
Iran’s envoy to the United Nations, Amir Saeid Iravani, said this week that his country “is fully prepared to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity against any aggression targeting its vital interests and security.”