US sanctions companies run by Iraqi businessman for smuggling Iranian oil
US sanctions companies run by Iraqi businessman for smuggling Iranian oil
2025-09-02 08:48
Shafaq News – Washington
The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Tuesday imposed sanctions on a network of companies and shipping vessels led by UAE-based Iraqi businessman Walid Khalid Hamid al-Samarrai, accusing him of smuggling Iranian oil disguised as Iraqi oil.
According to a Treasury statement seen by Shafaq News Agency, this network “operates primarily by secretly blending Iranian oil with Iraqi oil, then deliberately marketing it as pure Iraqi oil to evade sanctions.”
He pointed out that this scheme “generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for both the Iranian regime and Samaria itself.”
For his part, US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant emphasized that “Iraq cannot become a safe haven for terrorists, and that is why the United States is working to counter Iran’s influence in the country.”
He added, “By targeting Iranian oil revenues, the Treasury Department will degrade the regime’s ability to launch attacks against the United States and our allies. We remain committed to a supply of oil free from Iran and will continue our efforts to disrupt Tehran’s ongoing attempts to evade U.S. sanctions.”
Today’s action, according to the statement, “complements the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions issued on July 3, 2025, targeting the Salim Ahmed Saeed network, which also smuggled mixed Iraqi and Iranian oil, generating significant revenues for the Iranian regime.”
Together, these measures demonstrate the United States’ commitment to “eliminating Iran’s malign influence on the Iraqi economy and continuing its campaign of maximum economic pressure on Iran,” according to the statement.
shafaq.com
