The United States Department of the Treasury has imposed new sanctions on more than 100 Iran-linked individuals, companies, and ocean-going vessels in what it described as its “largest Iran-related action since 2018”. The sanctions target more than 50 vessels that the Treasury Department describes as being part of a “vast shipping empire” of oil tankers and container ships controlled by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of a senior political adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Treasury Department said that the Shamkhani family’s shipping network transports oil and petroleum products from Iran and Russia, as well as other cargo, to buyers around the world, generating tens of billions of dollars in profit. “The Shamkhani family’s shipping empire highlights how the Iranian regime elites leverage their positions to accrue massive wealth and fund the regime’s dangerous behavior,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
The sanctions target 15 shipping firms, 52 vessels, 12 individuals, and 53 entities involved in sanctions evasion in 17 countries, ranging from Panama to Italy to Hong Kong. A US official told Reuters that the sanctions would make it “much more difficult” for Iran to sell its oil, but added that the US administration did not anticipate any sustained disruption to global oil markets.
An Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson called the new sanctions “a clear example of America’s hostility towards the Iranian nation”, according to the country’s Student News Network. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said any new act of aggression against Iran will lead to a strong reaction. “Iran, a nation with a rich culture originating from 7,000 years of civilization, will never respond to the language of threat and intimidation,” Araghchi wrote on social media.
The sanctions come after US President Donald Trump threatened new attacks on Iran if the country attempts to restart its nuclear program. The US and Iran have been engaged in a tense standoff over Iran’s nuclear program, with the US imposing sanctions on Tehran and Iran maintaining its right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
The sanctions are likely to further strain relations between the US and Iran, with potential implications for global oil markets and regional stability. China is the top international buyer of Iran’s oil, and the sanctions may impact the country’s ability to export oil and generate revenue. The US Treasury Department’s action is seen as a significant escalation of pressure on Iran, and it remains to be seen how Tehran will respond to the new sanctions.