Shafaq News- Washington/ Baghdad
The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on Iraqi Deputy Minister of Oil Ali Maarij Al-Bahadly and several leaders of Iran-aligned armed factions, accusing them of exploiting Iraq’s oil sector to benefit Iran and its allied groups in Iraq.
In a statement, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the measures targeted individuals and businesses undermined the country’s security, adding that Al-Bahadly “abuses his position to facilitate the diversion of oil to be sold for the benefit of the Iranian regime and its proxy militias in Iraq.”
The sanctions also targeted senior members of the Iran-aligned armed groups Kataib Sayyid Al-Shuhada and Asaib Ahl Al-Haq, which Washington has designated as terrorist organizations.
According to OFAC, Al-Bahadly facilitated oil export operations linked to networks associated with previously sanctioned oil smuggler Salim Ahmed Said.
The Treasury Department alleged that shipments from Iraq’s Qayyarah oil field were transported to Khor al-Zubair, where Iranian oil was blended with Iraqi crude before export, while documentation was altered to conceal the origin of the shipments.
The sanctions included Mustafa Hashem Lazem Al-Bahadli, also known as “Sayyid Aoun,” whom OFAC accused of managing oil smuggling and financing networks linked to Asaib Ahl Al-Haq. Ahmed Khudair Al-Maksousi, the former deputy secretary-general of Kataib Sayyid Al-Shuhada, and Mohammed Issa Kazem Al-Shuwaili, known as “Abu Maryam,” were also designated over alleged coordination with Lebanon’s Hezbollah involving the procurement and transfer of weapons into Iraq.
Four Iraq-based companies operating in the oil and logistics sectors were also sanctioned, including Gulf Oil Services Limited and Iraq International Energy for Import and Sale of Petroleum Products Limited.
The Department explained that the sanctions are part of Washington’s “maximum pressure” campaign targeting Iranian oil revenues, sanctions evasion networks, and financial channels linked to Tehran. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that “Treasury will not stand idly by as Iran’s military exploits Iraqi oil to fund terrorism against the United States and our partners.”
Under the measures, all assets belonging to the sanctioned individuals and entities within US jurisdiction will be frozen, while US persons are prohibited from conducting transactions with them. The sanctions also allow for secondary restrictions on foreign institutions engaging with designated parties.