Iranian shipping sanctioned again
The US government has sanctioned Iran again.
By Michael McGrady, Maritime Direct Americas Correspondent
The US Treasury Department has again issued sanctions against Iranian shipping and components to the segment, including a subsidiary of the country’s international shipping enterprise and specific individuals.
Sapid Shipping, a subsidiary of Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), was named in the latest action taken against the country’s enterprises.
Other entities sanctioned by the US government include China-based Jiangyin Mascot Special Steel, the Iran Transfo Company and Zangan Distribution Transformer Company, the UAE-based Accenture Building Materials, and Iran’s Mobarakeh Steel Company.
This round of action also includes sanctions taken against Mohammad Reza Modarres Khiabani, the chief executive of IRISL.
Earlier in January, IRISL subsidiary Hafez Darya Arya Shipping Company and Majid Sajdeh, the company’s chief executive, were also sanctioned by the US.
These sanctions are an addition to an ongoing drama between the US and Iran.
While outgoing President Donald Trump is leaving his office on January 20 to make way for incoming President-elect Joe Biden, the events outlined here are contributing factors to the row between Tehran and Washington. Notably, a US businessman who of Iranian descent was imprisoned on trumped-up espionage charges and was sentenced to 10 years without a trial.
It has also been reported that a top Iranian nuclear scientist was assassinated at the hands of US-backed Israel and exiled opposition groups fighting the current government under the control of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Economic and financial sanctions are popular non-violent tools used against global actors the US deems a threat.
