Senators Call for Cracking Down on Iran Oil Trade
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., the ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee, and eight other committee Republicans urged the Biden administration Dec. 5 to step up implementation and enforcement of sanctions on Iran’s oil sector to deprive Tehran of funding for terrorism and nuclear weapons development.
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In a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, the lawmakers asserted that “lax” enforcement “has enabled certain nations, particularly in Southeast Asia, to openly disregard U.S. sanctions and sell Iranian crude to China. For example, trade data show that Malaysia is exporting oil to China in excess of its own production capacity, a clear indication of involvement in Iranian oil trade.”
The letter also expresses concern that implementation of the Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum (SHIP) Act has been delayed. The SHIP Act, which President Joe Biden signed into law in April, requires sanctions on foreign ports and refineries that process Iranian oil (see 2404240043).
The letter asks Treasury to provide several types of information by Dec. 20, including an assessment of foreign tankers suspected of illegally transporting Iranian oil; an assessment of foreign financial institutions facilitating Iranian oil exports; a briefing on Treasury’s work with foreign governments to improve sanctions enforcement on Iranian oil exports; and a classified briefing on Treasury’s use of intelligence community resources to monitor Iranian oil exports and associated financial networks.
The letter also calls for the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network to issue an updated advisory to financial institutions on recent tactics and new trends in sanctions evasion by Iran and its oil buyers.
Other lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans, have raised similar concerns in letters to the administration in recent months (see 2410110065, 2409200043, 2409190053 and 2408140052).
Although Treasury had no immediate comment on Scott’s letter, a State Department official said in August that the administration was “vigorously enforcing” existing sanctions and planned to rigorously enforce new ones (see 2408120032).