The United States blacklisted two companies based in Hong Kong, one in Shanghai and one in Dubai for helping Iran's state-owned National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) export millions of dollars of goods in violation of US sanctions.

The US Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the Hong Kong-based Triliance Petrochemical and Sage Energy, China-based Peakview Industry and United Arab Emirates-based Beneathco.

The sanctions would freeze all assets held by the companies that fall under US jurisdiction, generally bar US companies and individuals from dealing with them, and potentially subject non-US financial institutions that knowingly facilitate "significant transactions" for them to US sanctions.

In addition, the US government-imposed sanctions on two other companies, Jiaxiang Industry Hong Kong and Shandong Oiwangwa Petrochemical, and two individuals, Ali Bayandrian, who is linked to Triliance Petroleum, and Zhiqing Wang, a Chinese national linked to Shandong Oiwangwa.