U.S. Imposes New Sanctions Against Iranian Oil Sector

The Azadi Tower in Iran (Wikimedia)

The United States announced new counterterrorism sanctions against Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum, the National Iranian Oil Company, and its tanker subsidiary on October 27. Some analysts believe that these actions will make it difficult for future administrations to reverse the pressure campaign on the Iranian regime.

The Treasury Department also punished more than a dozen other Iranian state energy companies, their subsidiaries, and their executives. Many targets represent Iran’s most important revenue-earning sector, oil. Furthermore, the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum and state energy companies serve as financing sources for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, which the United States has designated a terrorist organization. 

U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin commented that the Iranian regime “uses the petroleum sector to fund the destabilizing activities.” Secretary of State Mike Pompeo added, “The few remaining buyers of Iranian crude oil should know that they are helping to fund Iran’s malign activity across the Middle East, including its support for terrorism.”

Alireza Miryousefi, Iran’s spokesperson to the UN, responded to the sanctions: “The U.S.’s hostility towards the Iranian people has no limit.”

A senior official for the Trump Administration told the Wall Street Journal that Iran can expect more counterterrorism measures in the coming weeks, targeting the petrochemicals, metals and transport industries. The official also stated that other sanctions would apply to China, a country that continues to purchase Iranian oil in contempt of U.S. policies.

This announcement comes as the U.S. prepares for the 2020 Presidential Election in less than a week. Former Vice President and Democratic Candidate Joe Biden has reiterated his support for re-entering the Iran Nuclear Deal over the past few months. These increased sanctions may hinder his chances of brokering a new deal. 

Unlike earlier measures, analysts suggest that Biden could not simply reverse these sanctions levied against Iran, as these latest designations put almost all of Iran’s petroleum sector under counterterrorism sanctions. 

Iran’s petroleum sector has suffered greatly this year with the plummeting prices of oil due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From its peak of 2.73 million barrels a day in April 2018 to 481,000 barrels a day in February 2020, oil exports have recovered to 1.2 million barrels a day as of September 2020.