UK sanctions Iranian oil magnate and four companies

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By Sam Tabahriti and Catarina Demony

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain sanctioned an Iranian oil magnate and four companies on Thursday, saying they are part of a network that supports Tehran’s overseas activities, including “destabilisation” in Ukraine and Israel.

The sanctions include an asset freeze and travel ban on Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, and an asset freeze on companies in the shipping, petrochemical and financial sectors, the Foreign Office said.

“Iran’s reliance on revenues from trading networks and connected organisations enables it to carry out its destabilising activities, including supporting proxies and partners across the region and facilitating state threats on UK soil,” Britain’s Minister for the Middle East Hamish Falconer said.

The Iranian embassy in London said it condemned what it called Britain’s “unilateral and illegal measures” and “baseless allegations”.

Shamkhani, the son of an adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, could not be reached for comment.

The United States, which sanctioned Shamkhani last month, said he controls a vast network of container ships and tankers through a complex web of intermediaries that sell Iranian and Russian oil and other goods throughout the world.

Some of the companies sanctioned by Britain on Thursday were cited for acting on behalf of or at the direction of Shamkhani, who is accused of aiding Iran’s overseas operations. Shamkhani was also sanctioned by the European Union in July.

British lawmakers warned last month that Iran posed a growing and multifaceted threat to Britain, and while it does not yet rival the scale of challenges posed by Russia or China, they said the government was ill prepared to confront it.

They said the Iranian threat spanned physical attacks and potential assassinations targeting dissidents and Jewish communities, as well as espionage, offensive cyber operations, and efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

Iran has rejected these claims, calling them “unfounded, politically motivated and hostile allegations”.

(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti and Catarina Demony; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)