US targets Iranian-Russian network over Syrian oil shipments

WASHINGTON — The United States on Tuesday said it sanctioned six individuals and three entities to disrupt an Iranian-Russian network that it said was providing millions of barrels of oil to the Syrian government and funding militant groups Hamas and Hizbollah.

US officials said Russia facilitated the delivery of oil from Iran to Syria, and that a variety of mechanisms were used in an attempt to conceal the shipments and oil-related payments.

"Today we are acting against a complex scheme Iran and Russia have used to bolster the [Syrian President Bashar] Assad regime and generate funds for Iranian malign activity," US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said in a statement.

"Central Bank of Iran officials continue to exploit the international financial system," he added.

Among those targeted are Syrian national Mohammad Amer Alchwiki and his Russia-based company, Global Vision Group, the Treasury Department said in a statement.

Other targets include: Syrian national Hajji Abd Al Nasir, Lebanon national Muhammad Qasim Al Bazzal and Russian national Andrey Dogaev as well as Iranian nationals Rasoul Sajjad and Hossein Yaghoubi Miab, the statement said.

The US Treasury's “designation” of the individuals and entities effectively cuts them off from the global financial system by blocking any of their assets under US jurisdiction and warning non-US institutions against dealing with them.