U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions against entities involved in trading Iranian oil and petrochemical products, as part of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign.
U.S. President Donald Trump “is committed to driving Iran’s illicit oil and petrochemical exports, including exports to China, to zero,” Rubio stated on Wednesday.
Washington sanctioned what the State Department said are four sellers and one purchaser of Iranian petrochemicals, which are worth hundreds of millions of dollars. The entities are based in Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.
Vroom Marine Ventures FZE, a United Arab Emirates-based marine management company, which “has played a key role in the Iranian crude energy supply chain that transports millions of barrels of Iranian petroleum products,” was also sanctioned.
A pair of Gabon-flagged crude oil tankers managed by Vroom Marine Ventures were tagged as blocked property.
“So long as Iran attempts to generate oil and petrochemical revenues to fund its destabilizing activities, and support its terrorist activities and proxies, the United States will take steps to hold both Iran and all its partners engaged in sanctions evasion accountable,” Rubio stated.
