US Targets Iran’s LPG Trade with Sanctions After Failed US Export Effort

Newly built LPG carrier linked to the network attempted to load in the US for a cargo to be sold in China (Jiangnan Shipyard)

Continuing the effort to apply maximum economic pressure on Iran, the U.S. Treasury through the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has taken steps to disrupt Iran’s liquified petroleum gas (LPG) business. It is part of the Trump administration’s ongoing campaign targeting all sectors of Iran’s oil industry with the latest sanctions placed on a U.S. described “LPG magnate” and a newly built Chinese LPG carrier.

According to the U.S. statement, Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh, his corporate network, and his son Meisam Emamjomeh, have been responsible for shipping hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Iranian LPG and crude oil to foreign markets. This led the U.S. to describe the father as an LPG magnate.

“Emamjomeh and his network sought to export thousands of shipments of LPG—including from the United States—to evade U.S. sanctions and generate revenue for Iran,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “The United States remains committed to holding accountable those who seek to provide the Iranian regime with the funding it needs to further its destabilizing activities in the region and around the world.”

The UAE-based company Pearl Petrochemical FZE, controlled by the father but passed to the son in October 2024, is linked to the newly built LPG carrier Tinos I. The vessel built by China’s Jiangnan Shipyard was delivered in May 2024 and is registered in Panama. The 93, 000 cbm VLGC was touted as an advanced fourth-generation design. It is 230 meters (755 feet) in length with a service speed of 16.5 knots.

According to the U.S. Treasury, the newly delivered vessel attempted in June 2024 to load LPG from the United States. The vessel was to take on the cargo in Houston and the U.S. reports it was to be sold to China. Treasury did not provide details but says the vessel failed to load the cargo.

The vessel has been added to the U.S.’s designated list of blocked entities along with Pearl Petrochemical which the U.S. says is the beneficial owner of the vessel. Emamjomeh the U.S. contends also owns or controls nine additional LPG companies in Iran, including, reportedly, one company with a monopoly on the National Iranian Gas Company’s LPG deliveries.

For more than a decade, the U.S. says the family has owned and operated an LPG sales, transport, and delivery network using multiple Irani and UAE-based companies. The U.S. says they have been responsible for shipping millions of dollars of Iranian LPG to foreign markets. One operation exported thousands of shipments of LPG from Iran to Pakistan.

The U.S. reports that LPG continues to be a major source of revenue for the Iranian regime. The announcement of today’s sanctions says the proceeds from the LPG exports are funding Iran’s nuclear and advanced conventional weapons programs, as well as regional proxy groups and partners such as Hizballah, the Houthis, and Hamas.