U.S. Sanctions Oil Tankers, Targeting Iranian Funding for Russian, Houthi Arms

The measures are targeted to Iran's involvement with regional terror groups and Russia's military supply chains, said Rachel Ziemba, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security. "They are yet to meaningfully increase pressure on Iranian fuel exports as a whole," she said.

Brenda Shaffer, an energy expert at the US Naval Postgraduate School, also emphasized the limited scope of the sanctions. "It is lipstick on a pig. Iran is exporting oil without any sanctions impediments and delivering arms to several militias operating against the US and disrupting the global trade system," she said.

While the sanctions are not expected to impact the global oil market broadly, it could put pressure on the shadow fleet and put more price leverage in China's court, said Rachel Ziemba, adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security.

"I does not yet move the needle on a global scale, but the tendency is towards tighter market and more discounts on sanctioned trade," Ziemba said. China so far has been wary of accepting fuel from specifically sanctioned vessels, she said.

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