The United States has sanctioned three Indian nationals and their shipping companies for assisting Iran in its oil trade, as part of a broader crackdown targeting 50 individuals, entities, and vessels, including a Chinese refinery and multiple traders.
The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced that Soniya Shrestha and her India-based Vega Star Ship Management, Varun Pula and his Marshall Islands-based Bertha Shipping Inc., and Iyappan Raja and his Marshall Islands-based Evie Lines Inc. have been sanctioned.
According to OFAC, ships owned by Bertha Shipping and Evie Lines allegedly transported millions of barrels of Iranian LPG to China, while a vessel operated by Vega Star reportedly carried Iranian LPG to Pakistan.
Other entities targeted include Shandong Jincheng Petrochemical Group Co., a “teapot” refinery in China’s Shandong Province that has purchased millions of barrels of Iranian oil since 2023; Rizhao Shihua Crude Oil Terminal Co. (China); S E A Ship Management (UAE); and Hong Kong-based Yu Hong De Company Ltd and Juliet Trading Ltd.
“These actors have collectively enabled the export of billions of dollars’ worth of petroleum and petroleum products, providing critical revenue to the Iranian regime and its support for terrorist groups that threaten the United States,” the Treasury Department said. “This action targets a network moving hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian LPG.”
The US first imposed sweeping sanctions on Iran’s oil exports in 2019, including secondary sanctions on foreign entities dealing with Iranian crude and petroleum products. While most major buyers, including India, ceased purchases, China continued importing Iranian oil.
The latest move signals a tightening of US enforcement, reflecting growing pressure on Iran and its global trading network.