US sanctions Iranian deputy commander, Houthi member and ships transporting Iranian oil

Washington: The US imposed sanctions on a deputy commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a Houthi militant member, firms registered in Hong Kong and the Marshall Islands, as well as two ships, one of which was carrying $100 million worth of Iranian assets to China. Used to transport goods.

Sanctions were imposed on Iranian official Mohammad Reza Falahzadeh and Houthi group member Ibrahim al-Nashiri on Tuesday.

Hong Kong-registered Kohana Co. Ltd. and Marshall Islands-registered Iridescent Co. Ltd. – which owns Panama-flagged Kohana – were also designated for sanctions. The US says Kohana has shipped more than $100 million worth of Iranian goods to businesses in China on behalf of Iran’s Defense Ministry.

Additionally, the US imposed sanctions on Hong Kong-based Cap Tees Shipping Co. Ltd., which owns the Artura, on charges of transporting Iranian goods for the network of previously sanctioned Houthi and Iranian financial facilitator Saeed al-Jamal. The Treasury says Artura has obscured its identity by using the name of a different ship, the Sanan II, to fulfill some of its shipments.

“Iran’s Defense Department is at the forefront of Iran’s destabilizing activities, such as aiding Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and the export of weapons that kill U.S. troops in Iraq and Syria,” Under Secretary of the Treasury Brian Nelson said in a statement. Along with supplying militia groups.”

Sanctions block access to US assets and bank accounts and prevent targeted people and companies from doing business with Americans.

Tensions have risen between the US, Iran and Houthi militias following a series of maritime attacks in the Middle East linked to the Israel-Hamas war, as multiple ships have found themselves in the crosshairs of a Houthi attack for the first time in the conflict.

The White House last week promised to impose new sanctions in retaliation for arms sales on Iran that fueled Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and threatened to impose sanctions if Tehran moves to sell ballistic missiles to Moscow. “Fast” and “Severe” responses will be given.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – The Associated Press)