The US Treasury has imposed sanctions on over 50 individuals, entities, and vessels largely out of the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong and China, for facilitating Iranian oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) sales and shipments from Iran.
According to a statement from the US Treasury, these actors have collectively enabled the export of billions of dollars’ worth of petroleum and petroleum products, providing critical revenue to the Iranian regime and “its support for terrorist groups that threaten the United States.”
This action targets a network moving hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian LPG, along with nearly two dozen shadow fleet vessels, a China-based crude oil terminal, and an independent “teapot” refinery, which are key to Iran’s ability to export petroleum and petroleum products to generate significant revenue.
The two dozen “shadow fleet” ships were flagged across multiple nations, concealing the origin of Iranian oil and circumvents earlier sanctions.
The statement said that Iran’s shadow fleet employs obfuscation tactics to mask shipments of Iran-origin petroleum and relies on services from companies in China and elsewhere to deliver their goods.
Iranian exporters often transfer cargoes between shadow fleet vessels—at times with the aid of tugboats—in the Persian Gulf and in waters off the coast of Singapore and Malaysia in order to disguise the origin of their cargoes.
The administration is citing a collection of executive orders signed by Republican President Donald Trump, including one in February that calls for the United States to “drive Iran’s export of oil to zero.”
Among other things, the sanctions deny the people and companies access to any property or financial assets held in the US and prevent businesses and citizens from doing business with them.
US Degrading Iran’s Cash Flow
US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent said in the statement that the Treasury Department is “degrading Iran’s cash flow by dismantling key elements of Iran’s energy export machine.”
“Under President Trump, this administration is disrupting the regime’s ability to fund terrorist groups that threaten the United States.”
Scott Bessent
According to the statement, this is the fourth round of sanctions where the Trump Administration has targeted China-based refineries that continue to purchase Iranian oil.
This action builds on recent sanctions in July and August targeting key enablers of Iran’s oil exports. The statement added that the action “is being taken primarily pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13902, which targets Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sector, as well as pursuant to E.O. 13846.”
It added that it continues sanctions targeting Iranian oil sales “in support of the President’s National Security Presidential Memorandum 2 (NSPM-2), instituting a campaign of maximum economic pressure on Iran.”
Trump’s “maximum pressure” on Iran is meant to deny Tehran access to nuclear weapons, and during the summer, the US and Israel engaged in several bombardments of Tehran’s nuclear and military sites.
The United Nations reimposed sanctions on Iran in September over its nuclear program, further squeezing the country as Iranians increasingly find themselves priced out of the food and worried about their futures.
Iran’s rial currency is at a record low, increasing pressure on food prices and making daily life that much more challenging.
Since January, the administration has imposed sanctions on 166 ships tied to the Iranian oil trade. The new sanctions also target a second Chinese oil terminal.
