Russia slams US ‘wrong approach’ over new Iran-related sanctions against Chinese firms

Russia has blasted the United States for adopting yet another “wrong approach” in the wake of new Iran-related sanctions targeting Chinese companies, stressing that Moscow will keep up its business ties with Tehran despite such bans.

“Wrong approach again… The United States playing a ‘world policeman,’ substituting the UN Security Council is an unwelcome role,” Deputy Russian Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy tweeted on Monday.

“We are doing and will be doing business with Iran and it's not up to the United States to tell us or others what they can or can’t do. Stop humiliating the United States in this pointless endeavor!” he added.

The remarks came after the US blacklisted two Chinese men and six Chinese entities for having dealt with the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) Group and, in some cases, helping it evade US sanctions.

In a statement, the US State Department said Reach Holding Group (Shanghai) Company Ltd.; Reach Shipping Lines; Delight Shipping Co., Ltd.; Gracious Shipping Co. Ltd.; Noble Shipping Co. Ltd.; and Supreme Shipping Co. Ltd had “knowingly sold, supplied, or transferred to Iran significant goods or services used in connection with the shipping sector of Iran.”

It also accused Reach Holding Group and its Reach Shipping Lines unit of helping IRISL and its subsidiaries, E-Sail Shipping Company Ltd. and Hafez Darya Arya Shipping Company (HDASCO), evade US sanctions.

The targeted individuals include Eric Chen, also known as Chen Guoping, chief executive of Reach Holding Group (Shanghai) Company Ltd., and Daniel Y. He, also known as He Yi, the company’s president.

The State Department had in June designated IRISL and E-Sail for alleged “proliferation-related conduct,” warning that any stakeholder who continued trading with the pair — even in humanitarian supplies and medical items— risked sanctions.

US enforces sanctions on Iran’s shipping network expected to hinder imports of food, medical supplies

The US activates the sanctions it imposed on Iran’s shipping network six months ago, in a move expected to further hamper imports of food and medicine into the country.

“Today, we reiterate a warning to stakeholders worldwide:  If you do business with IRISL, you risk US sanctions,” the statement on Monday read.

The new sanctions are in line with the “maximum pressure” campaign that the US unleashed against Iran in 2018 following withdrawal from a multilateral nuclear agreement.

Washington claims that its “toughest ever” economic restrictions target the Tehran government, but ordinary Iranians are the ones who have been suffering the most.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) — the principal judicial organ of the United Nations — ordered the US in October 2018 to halt the unilateral sanctions it had reinstated on humanitarian supplies to Iran.

On Sunday, a decade-long UN arms embargo on Iran expired under Security Council Resolution 2231, which endorsed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, whose efforts failed to keep the ban in force, said his country is “prepared to use its domestic authorities to sanction any individual or entity that materially contributes to the supply, sale, or transfer of conventional arms to or from Iran.”

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