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U.S. Expands Sanctions on IranVenezuela Arms Pipeline and Venezuela Oil Tankers

New OFAC actions tighten a pressure campaign pairing financial penalties with tanker seizures under a declared maritime blockade.

Overview

  • On Dec. 30, Treasury sanctioned 10 Iran- and Venezuela-linked targets, including Venezuelan assembler EANSA and its chairman José Jesús Urdaneta González, over Iranian-designed drone production in Venezuela.
  • The same action designated Iran-based procurement figures, including Mostafa Rostami Sani and Reza Zarepour Taraghi, for sourcing chemicals used in solid-fuel ballistic missiles, alongside entities tied to the RFKA group.
  • Sanctions freeze U.S.-jurisdictional assets, bar U.S. persons from transactions, and warn foreign financial institutions of secondary-sanctions risks for significant dealings with designated parties.
  • On Dec. 31, Treasury added four companies—Corniola Limited, Krape Myrtle Co, Winky International Limited, and Aries Global Investment—and tankers Nord Star, Lunar Tide, Rosalind, and Della to target Venezuela’s “shadow fleet.”
  • The sanctions coincide with escalating enforcement that includes U.S. seizures of two tankers, pursuit of a third, dozens of lethal strikes on alleged drug boats since September, and a CIA drone strike on a Venezuelan dock area reported last week.