Overview
- The Treasury’s OFAC added eight companies and nine tankers to its sanctions list, targeting operators accused of moving Iranian oil off the books.
- Treasury said the network transported petroleum worth hundreds of millions of dollars that authorities diverted to fund security services, weapons programs and regional militant groups.
- The listed tankers sail under the flags of Palau, the Comoros and Panama, and the targeted firms are registered in India, Liberia, Oman, the UAE, the Marshall Islands and the Seychelles.
- Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the action targets a key revenue channel used to suppress Iranians and pledged continued tracking of tens of millions of dollars he said the regime is trying to move abroad.
- The move follows Jan. 15 U.S. sanctions on five officials, including Ali Larijani, as protests that began in late December face a harsh crackdown and a prolonged internet shutdown, with rights group HRANA reporting over 4,900 confirmed deaths.