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US imposes sanctions on companies from China, Singapore and the UAE over their ties to Iranian oil

13 January 2012 14:41 (UTC +04:00)

The US State Department announced late Thursday night that penalties would be imposed on China’s Zhuhai Zhenrong, the Singapore-based oil trader Kuo oil, and the UAE-based independent oil trader FAL.

While the measures are unlikely to have a big immediate impact on these three companies, they send a strong warning signal to energy companies working in Iran at a time when the US has been canvassing Asian countries for more support in isolating Tehran.

The US State Department called the sanctions against the three firms an "important" step in convincing Iran to change its behaviour, and highlighted the "potential connection between Iran’s revenues derived from its energy sector and the funding of its proliferation [of] sensitive nuclear activities."