The Trump administration sanctioned a shipping network it says smuggles about $300 million annually in Iranian oil falsely presented as originating in Iraq, the U.S. Treasury and State Departments said on Tuesday.
The federal government also sanctioned Waleed Khaled Hameed al-Samarra’i, an Iraqi businessman based in the United Arab Emirates, accused of running the network.
Washington said that the oil is presented as being “solely of Iraqi origin to avoid sanctions” and is transferred from ship to ship using the Iranian regime’s “shadow fleet.”
“Iraq cannot become a safe haven for terrorists, which is why the United States is working to counter Iran’s influence in the country,” stated Scott Bessent, the U.S. treasury secretary.
“By targeting Iran’s oil revenue stream, Treasury will further degrade the regime’s ability to carry out attacks against the United States and its allies,” he said.
Gregory Brew, a senior analyst at the Eurasia Group, said Washington was “clamping down on one of the best-known oil smuggling routes.”
“For years, Iraqi businesses have profited by disguising Iranian crude and shipping it out in defiance of sanctions,” he said. “This round targets a prominent Iraqi national and adds another nine tankers.”
