The US Sanctions Iran's Oil Minister Including Hong Kong-flagged Vessels

JAKARTA - The United States has imposed sanctions on Iranian oil minister Mohsen Paknejad and several Hong Kong-flagged vessels that are part of a shadow fleet that help disguise Iran's oil shipments.

"Paknejad oversees Iran's tens of billions of dollars worth of oil exports and has allocated billions of dollars worth of oil to Iran's armed forces for export," the US Treasury said.

The Treasury Department also marks ship owners or operators who deliver Iranian oil to China or lift it from storage there.

The ships are in several jurisdictions, including India and China.

The Iranian military relies on a large fleet of shadow ships to disguise billions of dollars in shipments to China.

Ships marked Thursday include Hong Kong-flagged Peace Hill and Hong Kong owners Heshun Transportation Trading Limited, Iranian-flagged Polaris 1, Fallon Shipping Company Ltd registered with the Seychelles, and Liberian-listed Itaugua Services Inc.

The US State Department designated three entities and three vessels as blocked property.