WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday imposed sanctions on Chinese and other companies it said were used by one of Iran’s largest petrochemical brokers to sell tens of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian products to East Asia, as Washington continues to crack down on Iranian oil sales to the region.
The US Treasury Department in a statement accused the designated companies of being used by Iran’s Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry Commercial Co. to facilitate the sale of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products from Iran to East Asia.
The US Treasury and the US State Departments imposed sanctions on a total of six companies in actions that were announced in separate statements.
The action freezes any US-based assets and generally bars Americans from dealing with them. Those that engage in certain transactions with the firms also risk being hit by sanctions.
Since taking office in January 2021, US President Joe Biden has been loathe to sanction Chinese entities engaged in the oil and petrochemical trade with Iran due to hopes of securing an agreement to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
Efforts to resurrect the deal — under which Iran had curbed its nuclear program in exchange for relief from US and other sanctions — have so far failed, leading the US administration to look for other ways to increase pressure on Iran.
“The United States continues to pursue the path of diplomacy to achieve a mutual return to full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” the Treasury’s Under Secretary of for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian Nelson, said in the statement, referring to the 2015 deal by its formal name.
“Until such time as Iran is ready to return to full implementation of its commitments, we will continue to enforce sanctions on the illicit sale of Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals.”
US issues fresh Iran sanctions
https://arab.news/rmfqu
US issues fresh Iran sanctions
- The action freezes any US-based assets and generally bars Americans from dealing with them
- Those that engage in certain transactions with the firms also risk being hit by sanctions
The art of war: fears for masterpieces on loan to Louvre Abu Dhabi
- UAE paid more than €1 billion to borrow priceless works, but experts in France want them back
PARIS: The Middle East war has raised fears for the safety of priceless masterpieces on loan from France to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the museum’s only foreign branch.
The Abu Dhabi museum, which opened in 2017, has so far escaped damage from nearly 1,800 Iranian drone and missile strikes launched since the conflict erupted on Feb. 28.
However, concerns are mounting in France. “The works must be removed,” said Didier Selles, who helped broker the original agreement between France and the UAE.
French journal La Tribune de l’Art echoed that alarm. “The Louvre’s works in Abu Dhabi must be secured!” it said.
France’s culture ministry said French authorities were “in close and regular contact with the authorities of the UAE to ensure the protection of the works loaned by France.”
Under the agreement with the UAE, France agreed to provide expertise, lend works of art and organize exhibitions, in return for €1 billion, including €400 million for licensing the use of the Louvre name. The deal was extended in 2021 to 2047 for an additional €165 million.
Works on loan include paintings by Rembrandt and Chardin, Classical statues of Isis, Roman sarcophagi and Islamic masterpieces: such as the Pyxis of Al-Mughira.
A Louvre Abu Dhabi source said the museum was designed to protect collections from both security threats and natural disasters.
