Hafez Crossing, Taleghani Avenue, P.O. Box 1863 and 2501, Tehran, Iran;
National Iranian Oil Company Building, Taleghani Avenue, Hafez Street, Tehran, Iran
Official reason
Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating the Iranian Ministry of Petroleum, the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), and the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC) pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, a counterterrorism authority, for their financial support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF), an entity designated under E.O. 13224. Senior NIOC and NITC personnel have worked closely with Rostam Ghasemi, a senior IRGC-QF official and former Minister of Petroleum who was designated in 2019, and who has assumed a portion of former IRGC-QF Commander Qasem Soleimani’s role in facilitating shipments of oil and petroleum products for the financial benefit of the IRGC-QF. OFAC is also designating multiple entities and individuals associated with the Ministry of Petroleum, NIOC, and NITC, including front companies, subsidiaries, and senior executives. In addition, OFAC is designating four persons involved in the recent sale of Iranian gasoline to the illegitimate Maduro regime in Venezuela. NIOC, overseen by the Ministry of Petroleum, is responsible for the exploration, production, refining, and export of oil and petroleum products in Iran. NITC, a subsidiary of NIOC, is responsible for the transportation of Iranian crude exports. NIOC and NITC provide both the oil and tankers for the sale of Iranian oil by the IRGC-QF. The cooperation and coordination between the IRGC-QF and these entities extends well beyond the simple sale of oil, including coordination between NIOC and the Central Bank of Iran to facilitate the collection of tens of millions of dollars in proceeds from the sale of oil that benefitted the IRGC-QF. NIOC, NITC, the Ministry of Petroleum, and Viyan Zanganeh are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, the IRGC-QF. The Ministry of Petroleum is also being designated pursuant to E.O. 13224, as amended, for owning or controlling, directly or indirectly, NIOC.
On August 16, 2010, OFAC issued the Iranian Financial Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR part 561 (75 FR 49836, August 16, 2010) (IFSR) to implement provisions of the Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and Divestment Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111–195) (22 U.S.C. 8501–8551). Since then, OFAC has amended the IFSR several times.
