US Treasury Imposes Sanctions on Tanker Network Within Iran's 'Shadow Fleet'

The United States announced on Thursday the imposition of sanctions on a network of aging oil tankers that Iran relies on to export oil and its derivatives to international markets, as part of the “economic pariah” campaign launched by Washington last August to completely isolate the Iranian regime economically.

In a statement, the U.S. Department of the Treasury said the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned a tanker network used by the Iranian regime to transport billions of dollars’ worth of oil and petroleum products to global markets, as part of U.S. efforts to disrupt the remainder of Iran’s “shadow fleet” and its associated international support network.

The ministry confirmed that the new sanctions aim to neutralize the vast majority of Iran’s remaining shadow fleet.

It noted that the sanctioned vessels are registered in more than 12 jurisdictions and are operated by a complex network of internationally dispersed front companies, in an attempt to conceal operations designed to evade U.S. sanctions.

It added that dismantling this maritime network and its affiliated companies aims to cut off the primary channels the Iranian regime has relied on to circumvent sanctions, sustain its petrochemical sector, and direct resources to entities described as “destabilizing.”

The U.S. Treasury stressed that it will continue to monitor, identify, and disrupt attempts to evade sanctions, given the evolving nature of this network, with ships constantly entering and exiting it.

For his part, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement that the department is working to deprive the Iranian regime of the funds it uses to wage war in the region, reaffirming ongoing efforts to uncover entities facilitating Iranian oil sales.

Bessent added that any entity contributing to Iran’s ability to evade sanctions would not be shielded from measures available under the authority of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.