Global Geopolitical Series: United States vows to block oil shipments to Syria; imposes sanctions on Iranian and Russian entities and individuals

In a bid to block Syrian President Bashar-Al Assad’s claim on the new Syrian government and to reduce the strength of his military prowess, the United States has vowed to block oil shipments to Syria and in order to do that the U.S. has imposed sanctions on Iranian and Russian companies and individuals.

Last night, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that it is sanctioning nine targets in an international network through which the Iranian regime, working with Russian companies, provides millions of barrels of oil to the Syrian government. The department further said that the Assad regime, in turn, facilitates the movement of hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars (USD) to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) for onward transfer to HAMAS and Hizballah.

The U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin was quoted as saying, “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…….Central Bank of Iran officials continue to exploit the international financial system, and in this case even used a company whose name suggests a trade in humanitarian goods as a tool to facilitate financial transfers supporting this oil scheme.  We are issuing an Advisory today identifying the grave risks to the maritime community if they participate in shipping oil to the Government of Syria.  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.”

Here are the details of the entities and individuals, who were named in the sanctions:

• Mohammad Amer Alchwiki (Alchwiki) and his Russia-based company, Global Vision Group, which is accused by the U.S. for facilitating the delivery of oil from Iran to Syria, and the transfer of funds to the IRGC-QF’s lethal proxies.
• U.S. is also imposing sanctions on state-owned Russian company Promsyrioimport, a subsidiary of the Russian Ministry of Energy (Minenergo), which worked with the Global Vision Group to facilitate shipments of Iranian oil from NIOC to Syria.
• The U.S. is also imposing sanctions on Mir Business Bank and Iran-based Tadbir Kish Medical and Pharmaceutical Company (Tadbir Kish) for facilitating payments.
• The sanctions are also imposed on Rasul Sajjad, Central Bank of Iran’s (CBI) International Department Director, and Hossein Yaghoobi, CBI’s Vice Governor for International Affairs, as well as on Andrey Dogaev, First Deputy Director of Promsyrioimport.