After UK and EU, US imposes sanctions on Indian entities

New Delhi: The United States has imposed sanctions on four companies based in India for brokering the sale and transportation of petroleum products from Iran.

The latest sanctions by President Donald Trump’s administration in Washington DC came close on the heels of the United Kingdom and the European Union rolling out new sanctions on entities of India and several other countries for doing business with Russia. The EU and the UK rolled out the new sanctions on the third anniversary of the launch of Russia’s 'special military operations' in Ukraine on February 22, 2022.

The US Department of Treasury imposed sanctions on Flux Maritime LLP based in India and Nycity Shipmanagement Company Limited based in China for serving as the technical manager of a vessel, which allegedly loaded hundreds of thousands of barrels of heavy crude oil from Iran via a ship-to-ship transfer.

Besides, the US Department of State imposed sanctions on BSM Marine Limited Liability Partnership, Austinship Management Private Limited, and Cosmos Lines Inc based in India, along with other companies of Malaysia, Seychelles and the United Arab Emirates, for "having knowingly engaged in a significant transaction for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of petroleum or petroleum products, or petrochemical products from Iran”.

“Iran continues to rely on a shadowy network of vessels, shippers, and brokers to facilitate its oil sales and fund its destabilising activities,” US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said. “The United States will use all our available tools to target all aspects of Iran’s oil supply chain, and anyone who deals in Iranian oil exposes themselves to significant sanctions risk.”

Four companies based in India are among the targets of the new 16th package of EU sanctions on Russia and the individuals and entities doing business with the former Soviet Union nation. The Pratik Corporation based in Mumbai is a new inclusion to the list. The other three entities based in India, Innovio Ventures, Triac Electronics, and Si2 Microsystems Pvt Ltd, were already put on the list in June and December 2024.

The Trump Administration accused Tehran of circumventing US sanctions by relying on brokers outside Iran to facilitate the sale and transport of its crude oil to end users abroad, largely in China and the UAE.

Soon after returning to the Oval Office on January 20, Trump issued executive orders to exert "maximum pressure" on Iran and to bring down the oil export of the Persian Gulf nation to zero.

Trump on February 4 issued an executive order asking the US Secretary of State, Mark Rubio, to modify or rescind waivers to the sanctions imposed on Iran, particularly the ones, which provide the Islamic Republic of West Asia "any degree of economic or financial relief", including those related to the Chabahar Port project.

The move by the 47th American president would end the waiver New Delhi had secured from Washington DC during his first term in the White House to continue developing the Chabahar Port despite the US sanctions on Iran.

The port has strategic importance for New Delhi as it gives India a sea-land access to Afghanistan and Central Asia through Iran, bypassing Pakistan.