Image for representation purposes only The United States has imposed sanctions on Iraq’s Deputy Minister of Oil, Ali Maarij al-Bahadly, accusing him of helping Iranian-linked networks sell oil by disguising it as Iraqi crude. The sanctions were announced on Thursday by the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The US also sanctioned three senior members of the Iran-backed groups Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS) and Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH), along with several companies linked to oil operations in Iraq. According to the Treasury Department, al-Bahadly used his position inside Iraq’s oil sector to help divert Iraqi oil products for the benefit of Iran-affiliated networks and militias. US officials said he helped an Iranian-linked oil smuggler mix Iranian crude with Iraqi oil before it was shipped to international markets. The Treasury accused al-Bahadly of helping falsify documents that allowed the blended cargoes to be sold as purely Iraqi oil. It also said he authorised the transport of several million dollars’ worth of oil per day from Iraq’s Qayyarah oil field to VS Oil in Khor Zubayr for export operations. US authorities said VS Oil oversaw the mixing of Iranian and Iraqi crude before the cargoes were shipped abroad. Iraq’s Oil Ministry denied the allegations and said it was ready to cooperate with any fair investigation into the claims. The ministry said crude export operations, tanker loading, oil marketing and related procedures were not part of al-Bahadly’s responsibilities. Al-Bahadly did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The sanctions come months after Iraq’s Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani said Iranian oil tankers intercepted by US forces in the Gulf had been using forged Iraqi documents. Iran denied those accusations. The Treasury Department also targeted Mustafa Hashim Lazim al-Behadili, also known as Sayyid Awn, who US officials described as a senior economic official for Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq. According to OFAC, al-B