US Seizes Alleged Iranian Oil Shipment Bound for China

The US government has seized nearly 1 million barrels of Iranian crude oil allegedly bound for China, marking the first-ever criminal resolution involving a company that violated sanctions by facilitating the illicit sale and transport of Iranian oil. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a US-designated foreign terrorist organization, is accused of shipping over 980,000 barrels of oil, with multiple entities affiliated with the IRGC and the IRGC-Qods Force involved in disguising the origin of the oil. The court filings also allege that profits from these oil sales support the IRGC's malign activities, including the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, and human rights abuses.