The US has issued a series of new sanctions on Iraqi individuals and companies it claims have links to Iran-backed entities.
The latest penalties are part of Washington’s campaign called Operation Economic Fury, which seeks to disrupt Iran’s economy through widespread sanctions.
In a statement, the Treasury Department asserted that it is maintaining maximum pressure on Iran and targeting the regime’s ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds. It added that it is aggressively advancing Economic Fury and has disrupted billions in projected oil revenue, taken actions that have led to the freezing of nearly half a billion dollars in regime-linked cryptocurrency, and cracked down on Tehran’s shadow banking networks.
According to the statement, the Treasury remains ready to take economic action against Iran’s defence industrial base so that Iran cannot reconstitute its production capacity and project power outside its borders.
It disclosed that the Treasury is also prepared to take action against any foreign company supporting illicit Iranian commerce, including airlines, and, as necessary, may impose secondary sanctions on foreign financial institutions that facilitate Iran’s activities—including those connected to the People’s Republic of China’s independent “teapot” oil refineries.
“Any person or vessel facilitating the illicit trade of oil or other commodities, through covert trade or financial channels, risks exposure to US sanctions. Treasury will vigorously target both traditional sanctions evasion schemes and the exploitation of digital assets while continuing to freeze funds stolen from the Iranian people.
“Through the blockade, the Trump Administration is directly targeting the regime’s primary revenue stream, and any person or vessel facilitating the illicit flow of oil or other products risks exposure to U.S. sanctions.”
Treasury Department
Among those sanctioned are three senior officials of Iran-backed groups in Iraq as well as four Iraqi companies. The US Treasury named the sanctioned individuals as Mustafa Hashim Lazim al-Behadili, Ahmed Khudair Maksus Maksus and Mohammed Issa Kadhim al-Shuwaili.
“The United States will continue to hold these groups and other Iran-aligned terrorist militias in Iraq, such as Kata’ib Hizballah, accountable for their attacks against US personnel and civilians, diplomatic facilities, and businesses across Iraq, which the groups conduct without regard for Iraq’s sovereignty or democratic process.”
US Treasury Department
In the statement, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, said, “Like a rogue gang, the Iranian regime is pillaging resources that rightfully belong to the Iraqi people.” He added, “Treasury will not stand idly by as Iran’s military exploits Iraqi oil to fund terrorism against the United States and our partners.”
US Treasury Targets Iraq’s Deputy Oil Minister
Also sanctioned is Iraqi Deputy Oil Minister Ali Maarij Al-Bahadly, whom the US Treasury Department accused of facilitating “the diversion of oil to be sold for the benefit” of Iran’s government and Iran-backed groups in the country.
The US Treasury stated that Al-Bahadly has been instrumental in facilitating the diversion of Iraqi oil products to benefit known Iran-affiliated oil smuggler Salim Ahmed Said as well as Iran-backed terrorist militia Asa’ib Ahl Al-Haq (AAH).
It said that for years, Maarij has used his official positions—first as the Head of the Iraqi parliament’s oil and gas committee, and then within the Iraq Ministry of Oil—to enrich Said, AAH, and by extension, Iran. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated Said in June 2025 for running a network of companies selling Iranian oil falsely declared as Iraqi oil to avoid sanctions, including designated VS Oil Terminal FZE (VS Oil).
Al-Bahadly left his position as Head of Iraq’s state-run Missan Oil Company in 2014 and has since been a member of the Iraqi parliament. In 2018, he was appointed an adviser at the Oil Ministry. By 2020, he was appointed Head of the licensing and contracts office. In 2024, Al-Bahadly, who then held the position of Deputy Minister of distribution affairs, was briefly appointed Oil Minister.
The Treasury said that in his official capacities, Al-Bahadly enabled Said to illicitly procure oil products by granting exportation rights to Said’s companies. It said that Al-Bahadly authorized trucking several million dollars’ worth of oil per day from the Qayarah oil field to VS Oil in Khor Zubayr for export, adding that VS Oil oversaw the mixing of Iranian oil with Iraqi oil before being shipped to market. It stated that Al-Bahadly is also responsible for falsifying documentation on the provenance of oil for Said’s network, enabling it to be smuggled to market disguised as purely Iraqi oil.
Moreover, it stated that Ali Maarij Al-Bahadly is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13902 for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services to or in support of, Salim Ahmed Said.
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