Thread by @HeshmatAlavi

#BREAKING
1)
While France seeks to further appease #Iran's mullahs, the Trump administration takes action against a large shipping network directed by & financially supporting the IRGC Qods Force & its terrorist proxy Hizballah.
home.treasury.gov/news/press-rel…

@almostjingo @drawandstrike @SecStudiesGrp @CarrollQuigley1 @GeorgWebb @eyad1949 @EmadAlmudaifer @rising_serpent @cvpayne @HNIJohnMiller 2)
Over the past year, the IRGC-QF has moved oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars or more through this network for the benefit of the Assad regime, Hizballah & other illicit actors. Senior IRGC-QF official & former Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi oversees this sprawling network.

@almostjingo @drawandstrike @SecStudiesGrp @CarrollQuigley1 @GeorgWebb @eyad1949 @EmadAlmudaifer @rising_serpent @cvpayne @HNIJohnMiller 3)
“Iran continues to take provocative actions to destabilize the region/world. Treasury’s action against this oil network makes it clear that those purchasing Iranian oil are directly supporting Iran’s militant/terrorist arm, the IRGC-Qods Force,” said Treasury Sec. Mnuchin.

@almostjingo @drawandstrike @SecStudiesGrp @CarrollQuigley1 @GeorgWebb @eyad1949 @EmadAlmudaifer @rising_serpent @cvpayne @HNIJohnMiller 4)
“Our actions over the last two weeks should serve as a strong warning to anyone considering facilitating the Qods Force’s oil sales that there will be swift consequences.”

My take:
This is a strong warning to any individual/entity seeking to do business with Iran in any way.

@almostjingo @drawandstrike @SecStudiesGrp @CarrollQuigley1 @GeorgWebb @eyad1949 @EmadAlmudaifer @rising_serpent @cvpayne @HNIJohnMiller 5)
“The Iranian regime is leveraging a terrorist org as its chief conduit for obfuscating & selling hundreds of millions of dollars of illicit oil to fuel its nefarious agenda,” said Sigal Mandelker, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

6)
"Iran’s exportation of oil directly funds acts of terrorism by Iranian proxies & atrocities by Assad's regime against innocent people. This vast oil-for-terror shipping network demonstrates how economically reliant Tehran is on the IRGC-QF & Hizballah as financial lifelines."

7)
"The international community must vehemently reject Iranian oil and related products in the same way that it rejects the violent acts of terrorism these networks fund.”

8)
In spring 2019 alone, this IRGC-QF-led network employed more than a dozen vessels to transport nearly 10 million barrels of crude oil, predominantly to the Syrian regime. These shipments, taken collectively, sold for more than half a billion dollars.

9)
The same network also sold nearly 4 million barrels of condensate and hundreds of thousands of barrels in gas oil, bringing in another quarter billion dollars.

10)
Iranian officials increasingly seek to deceive potential customers into buying Iranian oil. The network, run by IRGC-QF official Rostam Qasemi, attempted on multiple occasions to pass off Iranian cargo as Iraqi-origin.

11)
Today, the U.S. Treasury Department's OFAC is announcing the designation of some 16 entities and 10 individuals pursuant to E.O. 13224, and is also identifying 11 vessels as property in which blocked persons have an interest.

12)
Back in April the U.S. State Department designated #Iran's IRGC as a "Foreign Terrorist Organization."
Washington continues to build on its maximum pressure policy based on this designation, especially considering Tehran's vast reliance on the IRGC.

https://twitter.com/HeshmatAlavi/status/1115260235994869760