New sanctions issued on Iran-China oil trade: State Dept.

New sanctions have been placed on several entities involved with Iran selling oil to China, including a company the U.S. says has "enabled the flow of billions of dollars to Tehran," the State Department announced Friday.

Qingdao Haiye Oil Terminal Co., a Chinese-based petroleum terminal operator, has allegedly imported "tens of millions of barrels of sanctioned Iranian crude oil" since the start of the war with Iran, the Department of State said in a release. 

"This flow often entails sophisticated evasion schemes, including illicit ship-to-ship transfers and 'dark fleet' operations that employ deceptive shipping practices endangering legitimate maritime commerce," the department said.

In addition to Qingdao Haiye, the U.S. has sanctioned Xinchun Li, the president of the company, and a so-called "dark fleet" tanker ship, New Fusion, and the company that manages the tanker, Thriving Times International Co.