The U.S. Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") designated nine targets in an "international network" through which Iran, working with Russian companies, delivered millions of barrels of oil to the Syrian government. OFAC stated that the Syrian government then used the network to move hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard and ultimately to designated terrorist groups Hamas and Hizballah.
In a related move, OFAC and other U.S. government agencies also warned parties involved in petroleum shipments to Syria of the risks of U.S. sanctions. As discussed previously, U.S. sanctions bar support to the Syrian government, which includes oil shipments to Syrian-controlled ports and other support for terrorist groups. OFAC said that the Iranian regime continues to give military and financial support to the Assad regime in Syria. All assets subject to U.S. jurisdiction of these sanctions targets are now blocked and U.S. persons generally are prohibited from having any dealings with them.
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