The Trump administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions on a handful of Chinese shipping companies for allegedly trafficking in Iranian crude.
The blacklisted entities are China Concord Petroleum Co., Limited, Kunlun Shipping Company Limited, Pegasus 88 Limited, and COSCO Shipping Tanker (Dalian) Seaman & Ship Management Co, Ltd., and two holding companies, Kunlun Holding Company Ltd. and COSCO Shipping Tanker Dalian Co., which “had knowledge of the sanctionable conduct” carried out by their subsidiaries, according to Mike Pompeo, who described the new action as “denying the Iranian regime critical income to engage in foreign conflicts, advance its ballistic missile development, and fund terror around the world”.
This comes just days after Steve Mnuchin slapped sanctions on Iran’s central bank and sovereign wealth fund, a move the Trump administration claims will “cut off all sources of funds”.
Read more: Trump Sanctions Iran Central Bank, SWF, Cuts Off ‘All Source Of Funds’ For Country
“We are telling China, and all nations: know that we will sanction every violation”, Pompeo said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York on Wednesday. “The more Iran lashes out the greater our pressure will and should be [and] that path forward begins now with two new actions”, he said.
Trump on Wednesday also unveiled a presidential proclamation blocking entry into the US for senior Iranian officials and their immediate families.
“I have determined that it is in the interest of the United States to take action to restrict and suspend the entry into the United States, as immigrants or nonimmigrants, of senior government officials of Iran, and their immediate family members”, the president said.
Just before that, during Trump’s afternoon press conference, Pompeo pretended to be interested in resolving the conflict. “We want peace and we want a peaceful resolution”, he said. “In the end, it will be up to the Iranians to make that decision whether they choose violence and hate”.
“It was an extraordinary declaration, given its timing”, The New York Times wrote of the visa restrictions. Hassan Rouhani, along with some 80 lieutenants, are in New York attending the United Nations General Assembly. The new action likely won’t force them to leave immediately.
Prior to the UN, both Rouhani and Javad Zarif contended that the US was delaying their visas, putting in jeopardy their attendance at the UNGA. Rouhani on Wednesday gave a defiant speech which, while couched in somewhat bombastic terms, was delivered with a measured tone.
Read more: At UN Hassan Rouhani Says Mideast Is ‘On Edge Of Collapse’
As far as the half-dozen blacklisted Chinese shipping and oil companies, the actions will not affect the parent company, China COSCO Shipping.
Apparently concerned about inflaming tensions with Beijing, Treasury published a clarification alongside the new addition to the OFAC’s FDN list. To wit, from the addendum:
Sanctions do not apply to these entities’ ultimate parent, COSCO Shipping Corporation Ltd. (COSCO). Similarly, sanctions do not apply to COSCO’s other subsidiaries or affiliates (e.g., COSCO Shipping Holdings), provided that such entities are not owned 50 percent or more in the aggregate by one or more blocked persons. U.S. persons, therefore, are not prohibited from dealing with COSCO, its non-blocked subsidiaries, or non-blocked affiliates to the extent the proposed dealings do not involve any blocked person, or any other activities prohibited pursuant to any OFAC sanctions authorities. Similarly, non-U.S. persons do not face sanctions risk for engaging in transactions with COSCO, its non-blocked subsidiaries, or non-blocked affiliates.
Ultimately, all of this just amounts to the Trump administration doubling and tripling down on the “maximum pressure” campaign vis-à-vis Iran, despite the effort having so far failed to bring the theocracy to heel.
But don’t think of the Chinese companies caught in the crossfire as simply collateral damage. As a major buyer of Iranian crude, Beijing’s willingness to go along with Trump’s efforts to throttle the regime is a key piece of the puzzle.
The U.S. wants regime change in Iran, plain in simple. We insisted on it once before, in 1953 (when the country had a democratically elected government) to secure control of its oil, and we did same in 2002 in Iraq (a country ruled by a brutal dictator) to secure control of its oil. We also did it in Guatemala (democratically elected government) in 1954 and in Chile (democratically elected government) in 1974, and supported (tacitly or otherwise) coups in the Democratic Republic of Congo (1961), South Vietnam (1963), and Indonesia (1965-66).
Of course, Mossadegh, Arbenz, Lumamba, Diem, Sukarno, and Hussein were all godless communists…or something. #JesusSaves #Exceptional
Does the exception granted to COSCO have anything to do with shipping soybeans and pork?
Is Pompeo taking over the role as to who gets what sanctions? I figure Trump grabbed that role.