US Sanctions Nine Entities of ‘Critical Role’ in Iranian Petrochemicals, Petroleum Trade

A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, on January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo/File Photo
A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, on January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo/File Photo
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US Sanctions Nine Entities of ‘Critical Role’ in Iranian Petrochemicals, Petroleum Trade

A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, on January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo/File Photo
A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, on January 20, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque/File Photo/File Photo

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on nine Iranian entities it accused of playing a critical role in the production of petrochemicals and petroleum.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the latest sanctions were part of “continued efforts to enforce US sanctions on Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical trade and disrupt Iran’s efforts to circumvent sanctions.”

The Department of the Treasury said in a statement that it is designating six Iran-based companies involved in the sale and distribution of petrochemicals.

Among the Iranian companies targeted were petrochemical producer Amir Kabir Petrochemical Co. (AKPC), its subsidiary Simorgh Petrochemical Co. and four subsidiaries of previously sanctioned Marun Petrochemical Co.

Among the companies sanctioned are Laleh Petrochemical Company, Marun Tadbir Tina Company, Marun Sepehr Ofogh Company, and Marun Supplemental Industries Company, owned by Marun Petrochemical Company, which was previously designated for providing material support to Triliance Petrochemical Co. Ltd.

The Treasury Department is also designating two Singapore-based entities, Asia Fuel PTE. Ltd. and Unicious Energy PTE. Ltd., which have facilitated Triliance’s sale of petroleum products to customers in East Asia.

The Treasury Department is designating Malaysia-based Sense Shipping and Trading SDN. BHD., a front company that has facilitated the shipment of tens of thousands of metric tons of petrochemicals for Triliance.

“Today’s action demonstrates our continued efforts to enforce US sanctions on Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical trade and disrupt Iran’s efforts to circumvent sanctions," the statement stressed.

"The United States remains focused on targeting Tehran’s sources of illicit revenue, and will continue to enforce its sanctions against those who wittingly facilitate this trade," Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson said in the statement.



Irish University to Cut Links with Israel Over Gaza War

 A picture taken from Israel's border with the Gaza Strip shows an Israeli tank rolling along the border fence on June 4, 2025. (AFP)
A picture taken from Israel's border with the Gaza Strip shows an Israeli tank rolling along the border fence on June 4, 2025. (AFP)
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Irish University to Cut Links with Israel Over Gaza War

 A picture taken from Israel's border with the Gaza Strip shows an Israeli tank rolling along the border fence on June 4, 2025. (AFP)
A picture taken from Israel's border with the Gaza Strip shows an Israeli tank rolling along the border fence on June 4, 2025. (AFP)

Ireland's prestigious Trinity College Dublin said on Wednesday that it would cut all links with Israel in protest at "ongoing violations of international and humanitarian law".

The university's board informed students by email on Wednesday that it had accepted the recommendations of a taskforce to sever "institutional links with the State of Israel, Israeli universities and companies headquartered in Israel".

The recommendations would be "enacted for the duration of the ongoing violations of international and humanitarian law", said the email sent by the board's chairman Paul Farrell, and seen by AFP.

The taskforce was set up after part of the university's campus in central Dublin was blockaded by students for five days last year in protest at Israel's actions in Gaza.

Among the taskforce's recommendations approved by the board were pledges to divest "from all companies headquartered in Israel" and to "enter into no future supply contracts with Israeli firms" and "no new commercial relationships with Israeli entities".

The university also said that it would "enter into no further mobility agreements with Israeli universities".

Trinity has two current Erasmus+ exchange agreements with Israeli universities: Bar Ilan University, an agreement that ends in July 2026, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which ends in July 2025, the university told AFP in an email.

The board also said that the university "should not submit for approval or agree to participate in any new institutional research agreements involving Israeli participation".

It "should seek to align itself with like-minded universities and bodies in an effort to influence EU policy concerning Israel's participation in such collaborations," it added.

Ireland has been among the most outspoken critics of Israel's response to the October 7, 2023 attacks on southern Israel by Hamas that sparked the war in Gaza.

Polls since the start of the war have shown overwhelming pro-Palestinian sympathy in Ireland.

In May 2024, Dublin joined several other European countries in recognizing Palestine as a "sovereign and independent state".

It then joined South Africa in bringing a case before the International Court of Justice in the Hague accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza -- charges angrily denied by Israeli leaders.

In December, Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar ordered the closure of the country's embassy in Dublin, blaming Ireland's "extreme anti-Israel policies".