Lawmaker Concerned About Growth in Iran Oil Exports

The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa said Nov. 6 that he’s “deeply concerned” that Iran’s oil exports are reportedly increasing despite the Trump administration’s efforts to cut a key source of funding for Tehran’s terrorist proxies.

“The administration must act decisively to enforce existing sanctions and close the loopholes that allow Iran to evade them through networks in the UAE, Turkey, and elsewhere,” Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said in a statement provided to Export Compliance Daily. “Every vessel, company, and individual involved in facilitating Iran’s illicit oil trade must be sanctioned immediately and comprehensively. Anything less only emboldens the regime and its terror network.”

According to a policy brief by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Iran’s oil exports averaged 2.15 million barrels a day in October, the highest level of the year, even though the Treasury Department imposed three rounds of Iran-related sanctions in October, including an Oct. 9 package targeting more than 50 people, entities and ships (see 2510090011). Over a quarter of the vessels that carried Iranian oil in October have not been sanctioned, and even sanctioned vessels "still travel freely across the globe," the brief says.