The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday slapped sanctions on 37 Europe-based companies and five Iranian individuals for assisting Iran's national shipping company on weapons program, Xinhua reported.
"The U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced the designation of 37 front companies based in Germany, Malta, and Cyprus and five Iranian individuals for being owned or controlled by, or acting for or on behalf of, the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) and its affiliates," Treasury Department said in a statement.
The statement said the action, taken pursuant to Executive Order 13382, is meant to further exposes Iran's use of its national maritime carrier to advance its illicit weapons of mass destruction (WMD) program and to carry military cargoes.
Executive Order 13382, signed by U.S. president in 2005, is aimed at freezing the assets of "proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their supporters", and prohibiting them from doing all transactions with any U.S. person.
"We will continue to expose the elaborate structures and tactics Iran uses to shield its shipping line from international scrutiny so that it can continue to facilitate illicit commerce," said the statement.
...