India, May 12 -- The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned 12 individuals and entities for their roles in enabling the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) sale and shipment of Iranian oil to China.

"The IRGC relies on front companies in permissive economic jurisdictions to conceal its role in oil sales and funnel the revenue back to the Iranian regime," the Treasury Department said in a statement.

The department alleged that instead of using the revenue to support the struggling Iranian people, Tehran directs the funds toward weapons development, backing terrorist proxies, and financing security forces that suppress civil freedoms.

"As Iran's military desperately tries to regroup...