US Imposes Sanctions on Iranian Shipping Network Linked to Political Elite
Washington — On Wednesday, the United States announced sanctions against a shipping network linked to the son of a prominent political advisor to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The U.S. Treasury Department said the sanctions target various companies and vessels run by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani, who has faced U.S. sanctions since 2020. The shipping fleet includes over 50 tankers and container ships responsible for transporting oil and petroleum products from Iran and Russia, generating significant profits.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent commented that the Shamkhani family’s shipping operations demonstrate how elite individuals in Iran use their influence to amass wealth while supporting the regime’s troubling activities.
In total, the U.S. is imposing sanctions on over 115 people, businesses, and vessels, including some based in Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Singapore, Switzerland, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates.
Bessent noted that this is the largest set of sanctions since the previous administration’s “maximum pressure” strategy towards Iran began.
The new sanctions follow a recent U.S. strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, including a site in Fordo and others in Isfahan and Natanz. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce stated that these sanctions aim to hinder the Iranian regime’s funding of destabilizing actions, such as its nuclear ambitions and support for terrorism, as well as its oppression of citizens.
Bruce warned that anyone buying Iranian oil or petrochemicals would face U.S. sanctions and be blocked from conducting business in the U.S.
Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender assured that these sanctions should not substantially disrupt global oil markets. He emphasized that the aim is to target Iran’s illegal oil smuggling activities, predominantly to China, and help legitimate companies steer clear of such transactions.
At the beginning of the year, Iran was exporting approximately 1.8 million barrels of crude oil per day. This figure has since dropped to around 1.2 million barrels per day, and Faulkender indicated that efforts are ongoing to further decrease this number.
