Iranian oilman. File photoWASHINGTON, May 25. U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said Russian authorities and state-owned companies are helping Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) smuggle oil and launder proceeds. The U.S. on Wednesday imposed sanctions against ten individuals and nine legal entities for ties to the IRGC, which Americans consider a terrorist organization.Nebenzia accused the United States of smuggling oil and grain from Syria»Today, the United States is imposing sanctions against an international network of oil smuggling and money laundering, led by current IRGC-Al-Quds officer Behnam Shahriyari and former IRGC-Al-Quds officer Rostam Ghazemi,” Blinken said in a statement. “This network is backed by high echelons of the government of the Russian Federation and state-owned economic enterprises. It has secured hundreds of millions of dollars worth of oil sales for the IRGC – Al-Quds forces and (the Lebanese movement) Hezbollah.” and covers several jurisdictions, including Iran and Russia,» the secretary of state said. He warned that US sanctions threaten anyone who buys Iranian oil. >Poland proposed to introduce a duty for countries importing oil from RussiaSanctions, in particular, hit the Moscow-registered company RPP LLC, its former head K Amaluddin Ghulam Nabizada and current top manager Mihrab Suhrab Hamidi. According to the ministry, Nabizada is an Afghan citizen but also holds a Russian passport. The sanctions list includes Zamanoil DMCC, a company from the United Arab Emirates, which, according to US authorities, cooperated with «the Russian government and the Russian state company Rosneft» in the transportation of large quantities Iranian oil companies in Europe.Sanctions for links with the IRGC are also imposed against citizens of Turkey and Iran, companies from China, Lebanon and South Korea. Giving up Russian oil would be suicidal for the EU, Foreign Ministry says
