Bob McCarty Writes

Yesterday, the Department of the Treasury slapped sanctions on the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (a.k.a., “PIRANHAs”) and 18 of its subsidiaries suspected of facilitating shipments of military cargo and involvement in a number of transactions involving materials and technologies with ballistic missile applications.

Click image to buy PIRANHA merchandise.

These designations, according to a Treasury news release issued today, stem from concerns that IRISL is using its global transportation system to ship items of proliferation concern to Iran in circumvention of a number of United Nations Security Council resolutions.  Iran’s violating U.N. resolutions?  Say it isn’t so!

According to the Iranian organization’s web site, IRISL owns 115 ocean going vessels totaling 3.3 million dead weight tonnage, has 7,000 employees and is capable of transporting 22 million tonnes of cargo a year.  That’s a lot of potential “dirty bombs.”

For additional information on the designation, please visit: www.treasury.gov/press.