Five U.S. citizens charged with supposedly selling Iranian oil to a Chinese company

The tension between the United States and Iran continues. Five Americans -- four from Texas and one from New York -- have been charged on Tuesday with conspiracy for trying to sell Iranian oil to China. If finally convicted, each of the defendants faces a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison, as well as a $1.25 million fine. 

The U.S. Department of Justice has explained in a press release that these five persons have been arrested and charged with violating the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) by attempting to transact with Iranian oil, which is sanctioned by the U.S. Government.  In this same document, the United States explains that the five accused were allegedly buying Iranian oil, to later resell it to a Chinese company between July 2019 and February 2020.  According to the complaint, one of the defendants offered to launder money through his company, while two of his colleagues applied for passports to establish foreign accounts without informing the US authorities.

“With the goal of illegally enriching themselves, the defendants conspired for over eight months to devise a scheme to violate U.S. sanctions imposed on Iran, particularly the ban on foreign oil sales”, said Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers.  “The sale of oil is the lifeblood of the Iranian economy.  At the same time the United States was increasing its sanctions in order to pressure Iran to stop its malign activities, these defendants put greed ahead of country.  I commend the efforts of the agents and prosecutors who investigated and uncovered this brazen evasion of U.S. law”, he added. 

“The defendants in this case allegedly committed serious federal crimes that flew in direct contradiction to the United States’ national security interests”, said U.S. Attorney McSwain for the Eastern District of Pennsylvannia.  “By devising a scheme to purchase oil from Iran, conceal its origins via a refinery in China and make tremendous profits, the defendants were also directly financially benefitting the nation of Iran in its quest to become a nuclear power, thus jeopardizing the safety and security of the United States and our allies”, he concluded after announcing that these five defendants will be prosecuted to “the fullest extent of the law” to send the message this kind of attitude won’t be tolerated in the United States.

The killing of General Soleimani by the United States and Tehran's response to it have brought both countries to the brink of conflict. However, this confrontation began much earlier. In 2018, the President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced Washington's withdrawal from the nuclear pact, signed in 2015 between the United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, Germany and The Islamic Republic.  Following the US decision to withdraw from this agreement, Washington has decided to reactivate sanctions against Iran. China, however, continues to position itself as one of the major importers of Iranian oil.