The United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on five Iranian ship captains who had delivered oil to Venezuela, The US Department of Treasury announced.
The US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was speaking at a press conference at the State Department, said the five Iranian ships transported about 1.5 million barrels of Iranian gasoline and related components.
“As a result of today’s sanctions, these captains’ assets will be blocked. Their careers and prospects will suffer from this designation,” Pompeo said in a statement later. “Mariners who are considering work with Iran and Venezuela should understand that aiding these oppressive regimes is simply not worth the risk,” he said.
The Trump administration is seeking both to block Iran’s energy trade and bring down Venezuela’s Maduro regime.
Since April Iran has sent five tankers totaling about 1.5 million barrels to the leftist government of Venezuela.
