US Targets Iran’s Oil Network in Major Round of Global Sanctions

The U.S. Treasury and State Department have announced sanctions targeting over 20 entities and 10 vessels facilitating Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical exports.

The action aims to disrupt the flow of revenue Iran uses to fund destabilizing activities, including support for terrorism, the nuclear program, and human rights violations.

The new sanctions update has enlisted a China-based operator of crude oil and petroleum products from US-designated tankers that have Iranian-origin crude oil.

“Any country or person who chooses to purchase Iranian oil or petrochemicals exposes themselves to the risk of U.S. sanctions and will not be allowed to conduct business with the United States.”

— Donald Trump, US President

Multiple companies in India, the United Arab Emirates, Turkiye, and Indonesia are also being designated that have been supporting Iran’s Ministry of Petroleum with significant sales and purchases of Iranian-origin petrochemical products.

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The Department of the Treasury has also sanctioned more than 115 people, companies, and ships connected to a massive shipping network run by Hossein Shamkhani, who is the son of an Iranian Naval officer and politician, Ali Shamkhani.

The U.S. Treasury has revealed that Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani oversees an extensive fleet of tankers and container ships through a web of front companies and intermediaries. This network facilitates the global sale of Iranian and Russian oil, generating tens of billions of dollars in profit. According to the Treasury, Shamkhani took advantage of political connections and corruption in Tehran to channel these profits toward sustaining the Iranian regime.

In addition, the U.S. has sanctioned several vessel management companies involved in illicit oil shipments and deceptive maritime practices, which pose a serious threat to the security and integrity of global trade flow.

These sanctions are part of a broader US strategy to counter Iran’s destabilizing behavior and nuclear ambitions. As the US State Department highlights:

“The United States will continue to impose maximum pressure on the Iranian regime, in support of National Security Presidential Memorandum 2, until Iran accepts a deal that advances regional peace and stability and in which Iran forgoes all aspirations of a nuclear weapon.”

This new update underscores the growing complexity of sanctions compliance businesses in the shipping, energy, and financial sectors. It requires businesses to remain vigilant as failure in detecting sanctioned actors, whether they are involved directly or indirectly, can carry reputational and regulatory consequences.