The U.S. government has charged nine individuals from Turkey, Iran, China, and Oman for their alleged participation in smuggling Iranian oil, the Financial Times reported, citing U.S. Department of Justice court documents. The charges include operating a global network dedicated to selling Iranian oil via illicit means to Syria, Russia, and China through government-linked intermediaries in those countries.
The indictment revealed the seizure of 500,000 barrels of fuel worth over $25 million, and more than $108 million in funds. This move is part of the U.S.’ efforts to undermine Iran’s oil revenues that it could use to fund destabilizing activities in the Middle East through its proxies.
The indictments correspond with rising tensions between the U.S. and Iran following a recent drone attack by Iranian-backed militia that resulted in the death of three American soldiers. Analysts warn about potential escalation but both sides are keen to avoid direct confrontation.
At the same time, the U.S. has been conducting airstrikes of its own targeting Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen in response to the group’s attacks on commercial shipping lines in the Red Sea.
Seven of the nine defendants have been accused of using intermediary companies in countries like Turkey, Greece, and Lebanon to sell Iranian oil to government-linked buyers from China, Russia, and Syria. Additional charges include conspiracy to support foreign terrorist organizations and violating sanctions against Iran and Syria.
Behnam Shariyari, a senior official of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp’s Quds Force, is one of the defendants. In collaboration with Rostam Qasemi and with the support of the Russian government, he runs an operation to launder money and smuggle oil to fund IRGC Quds Force and Hizbollah.
Two other defendants from Oman and China have been charged with selling oil to refineries owned by the Chinese government via foreign entities in the U.S., Turkey, and Oman. All the defendants are still at large.
