U.S. Sanctions Against a Financial Network Supporting the Quds Force of the IRGC

On Thursday, November 15, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on 26 individuals, entities, and vessels linked to the Syrian company "Al-Qatargy," a financial provider for the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Houthis in Yemen. According to the Treasury Department's statement, Al-Qatargy has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the Quds Force and the Houthis by selling Iranian oil to Syria and China. The statement noted that Al-Qatargy, which had previously been sanctioned by the U.S. for facilitating oil sales between the Assad government and the terrorist group ISIS in Iraq and Syria, has now become "one of the main channels" for generating income for the Quds Force and its proxy groups in the region. In this context, Bradley Smith, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorist Financing and Financial Crimes, stated, "[The Iranian government] increasingly relies on key commercial partners like Al-Qatargy to support its destabilizing activities and its network of terrorist groups in the region." He emphasized that the United States will continue all possible actions to limit the Islamic Republic's ability to profit from illegal schemes that enable this government's dangerous policies in the region. The sanctioned individuals include Hossam bin Ahmad Rushdi Al-Qatargy, the head of Al-Qatargy, Mohammad Aqa Ahmad Rushdi Qatargy, an employee in the oil section of Al-Qatargy, and Abbas Khatirji, the son of the former head of the company. The statement also listed vessels flying the flags of Guyana, Iran, Barbados, Palau, and Panama, as well as shipping companies based in Iran, Lebanon, India, Panama, the Marshall Islands, and the Seychelles as sanctioned entities. Moshtagh Trade Industry Company and Amity Shipping Company of Kish Island are two Iranian companies sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury on Thursday.