Companies that buy crude freed up by oil-for-goods swaps between Iran and Russia could face sanctions, the US Treasury Department warns. US officials have repeatedly raised concerns over a possible arrangement in which Russia would take up to 500,000 b/d of Iranian oil in exchange for Russian equipment and goods. Any party that buys Iranian crude, even indirectly, could be held to account, US treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence David Cohen told a Senate panel on 2 April. “Purchase of oil from Iran would be sanctionable,” Cohen says. “If they sold that to anybody else, that transaction would be sanctionable.” A Russian bank that finances such a deal could also be targeted by US sanctions. Recent US actions targeting members of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s inner circle should demonstrate the administration’s willingness to use its sanctions arsenal, Cohen says (AGM, 21 March, p6).
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