Hilary Clinton announced today that three oil-trading companies have been put under sanctions by U.S. authorities for selling refined oil products to Iran.
AFP reports that the U.S. State Department announced that China’s Zhuhai Zhenrong, Singapore’s Kuo Oil and UAE-based FAL Oil are affected. They will be barred from receiving U.S. export licenses, import-export funding and loans exceeding $1 million from U.S. financial institutions.
The U.S. State Department alleged that Zhuhai Zhenrong has sold over $500 million, and Kuo Oil over $25 million in petrol to Iran from January 2010 to January 2011.
The same report says FAL sold $70 million dollars in petrol to Iran in the second half of 2010.
The U.S. State Department added that the sanctions are against the companies and not their countries.The U.S. has been active in increasing unilateral sanctions against Iran and enlisting the support of its ally countries to follow suit.
U.S. sanctions against Iran’s Central Bank also prohibit dealing with any companies or institutions that have dealings with Iran’s Central Bank.
