The U.S. sanctioned several entities and vessels this week that it said are trading in Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals, which is helping to generate billions of dollars in revenue for Iran’s government.

The EU on Dec. 16 announced its 15th sanctions package against Russia, designating nearly 100 new people and entities and taking other measures designed to prevent circumvention of EU sanctions.

The State Department approved a possible $1.17 billion military sale to India, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Dec. 2. The sale includes “MH-60R Multi-Mission Helicopter “Equipment” and related support, and the principal contractor will be Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned 35 vessels and ship management firms involved in transporting Iranian petroleum to foreign markets, which OFAC said provides the country’s government with money to develop weapons and fund terrorism. The designations target a “sprawling network” of tankers that carry the flags of the Marshall Islands, Guyana, the Cook Islands, Liberia, Honduras, Panama and more, as well as their managers based in the United Arab Emirates, mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Seychelles and elsewhere.

The National Turkey Federation and Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., co-chair of the Senate India Caucus, announced this month that the U.S. has begun exporting turkey products to India thanks to a September 2023 trade agreement that called for the South Asian country to reduce tariffs on several food items, including frozen turkey (see 2309080049). The first shipment, which was provided by Virginia turkey farmers, recently left the U.S. from the Port of Virginia, the announcement says.

An Indian national violated U.S. export controls by lying on at least one export application for dual-use aerospace technology, telling the government the item would be exported to India when he actually planned to send it to Russia, according to a DOJ indictment unsealed last week and the sworn affidavit of a Bureau of Industry and Security special agent.

The U.K. and India will relaunch talks on a free trade deal in 2025 after failing to reach an agreement in discussions over the last two years (see 2309010034), the U.K. announced this week after a meeting between their two leaders at the Group of 20 summit in Brazil. Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the U.K. will look to lower Indian tariffs “to help British firms export to this dynamic market.”

The U.S. this week designated 26 companies, people and vessels linked to the sanctioned Al-Qatirji Company, a Syrian conglomerate that OFAC said generates hundreds of millions of dollars for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and the Yemen-based Houthis by selling Iranian oil to Syria and China.

The U.S. this week unveiled new trade and financial restrictions against people and companies across more than 17 countries for helping Russia evade sanctions or for supporting the country’s military, adding nearly 400 to the Treasury Department’s sanctions list and more than 40 to the Commerce Department’s Entity List. Another move by Commerce will tighten existing controls on nearly 50 entities that it said are procuring U.S.-branded microelectronics for Russia.