U.S., EU expand IRISL sanction list

U.S., EU expand IRISL sanction list    The United States and European Union this week expanded a list of companies that have engaged in business with Iranian shipping companies,
   U.S. Treasury Department sanctions have been in place since September 2008 against the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines and affiliated companies. The U.S. government alleges IRISL and its complex tangle of affiliates has facilitated the transportation of illegal weapons shipments to Iran.
   The United States added Venezuela’s state oil company PDVSA and six other smaller oil and shipping companies for engaging in trade with Iran, Reuters reported. One of the companies sanctioned is the Ofer Brothers Group, the Israeli conglomerate that runs Israel Corp., parent company of the container line Zim.
   The U.S. State Department alleges that the Ofer group and Tanker Pacific of Singapore sold a tanker to IRISL, a transaction the Ofer group denies.
   'We have never sold ships to Iran,” the company said.
   U.S. State Department officials said other businesses within the Ofer Group (i.e. Zim) are not affected by the sanctions.
   The involvement of the Ofers is eyebrow-raising given the animosity between Israel and Iran.
   The EU, meanwhile, added 100 new entities to a list of companies and people affected by EU sanctions, including 30 IRISL holding companies based in Germany, Malta, Hong Kong and the Isle of Man in the U.K., Reuters reported.