US Sanctions On India: Another Mischief By America, Ban Imposed On Indians And Companies Doing Oil Trade With Iran

A new news from Washington has once again added bitterness to India-America relations. The US Treasury Department has imposed new sanctions on Iran’s energy sector businesses. This time, some Indian citizens and companies have been directly targeted, who are accused of taking part in dealings related to Iran’s oil and gas business. America claimed that these Indians played a role in the export of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and petroleum products to Iran. Washington says that this earned Iran billions of dollars, which it uses to fund terrorist organizations. But from India’s point of view, this action is another example that America does not hesitate to crush the economy and business of other countries in front of its own interests.

US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) made a big announcement on Thursday that it is taking action against more than 50 individuals, companies and ships that were involved in the export of oil and gas from Iran. Among these are the names of three Indian citizens Varun Poola, Sonia Shrestha and Ayyapan Raja. Varun Poola is accused of being a member of Bertha Shipping Inc. He is the owner of a company named, which transported a large consignment of LPG from Iran to China. Ayyapan Raja was appointed as Evie Lines Inc. It is said to be the owner of , which has transported one million barrels of Iranian LPG since April 2025. At the same time, Sonia Shrestha’s company “Vega Star Ship Management Pvt Ltd” allegedly sent LPG from Iran to Pakistan. The US has blacklisted all three of them for “operating” in Iran’s energy sector.

Why does India object?

India’s stand is clear that New Delhi does not accept any unilateral American sanctions. India has also said earlier that it recognizes only the international sanctions imposed by the United Nations and not the domestic law made by any one country. India’s relations with Iran are not just oil but also strategic and cultural. India has worked with Iran on major projects such as the Chabahar port, which ensures India’s access to Afghanistan and Central Asia. For India, Iran is not just an oil supplier but a geopolitical partner. In such a situation, such action by America is like an attack on India’s interests.

America’s argument – stopping terror funding

The statement from the US side said that it wants to stop Iran’s income by destroying its petroleum machinery.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said, we are disrupting Iran’s cash flow so that it cannot give money to terrorist organizations that are a threat to America. This statement clearly shows the direction of American politics which has been continuously presenting Iran as an enemy. But the innocent businessmen and companies who get trapped during this time are often from other countries like India, UAE or Singapore.

How Indian businessmen got trapped

Iran’s energy supply network is extremely complex. It has been told in US documents that companies from many countries including China, UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore and India were involved in the transportation of Iranian oil and LPG. To hide the identity of its oil, Iran often uses shadow fleets, i.e. ships that show false documents and sail under the flags of different countries. According to OFAC, businessmen linked to India used to provide technical, logistics or financial services to these ships. However, no Indian company or individual has been directly accused of terror funding. Nevertheless, he was put on the ban list.

What will be the effect now?

According to US law, any person or company that is included in the OFAC blacklist, all its assets and transactions are frozen in US jurisdiction. This means that now these Indian companies will not be able to transact in US dollars, and their business with any American bank or institution will be considered illegal. Not only this, any foreign company that does business with them will also come under American surveillance. Due to this, the global business of these Indian businessmen will be greatly affected.

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