US sanctions 27 firms, 22 vessels in fresh crackdown on Iran's oil trade

The department said the designations were imposed under Executive Order 13902, which targets Iran's petroleum sector and other key sectors of its economy

The United States has announced a fresh round of Iran-related sanctions targeting 27 companies, six individuals and 22 vessels, as the Trump administration intensifies economic pressure on Tehran and seeks to disrupt its oil trade and alleged sanctions-evasion networks, Al Jazeera reported.

According to a press release issued by the US Department of the Treasury, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the latest action was aimed at cutting off revenue used by the Iranian regime and targeting those facilitating Iran's oil sales and sanctions evasion.

"Treasury is starving the tyrannical regime in Tehran of the money it uses to wage war in the region, and we will continue exposing those who enable the regime's oil sales," Bessent said. "No enabler of Iranian sanctions evasion is safe from the full force of Treasury's authorities."

The Treasury said the action, taken under Operation Economic Outcast, targets Iran's remaining shadow fleet, an ageing network of tankers used to transport petroleum and petroleum products to foreign markets. The designations cover shipping operators, maritime management companies and trading firms across several countries, including Turkiye, China, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the Marshall Islands.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the designations cover shipping operators, maritime management companies and trading firms across several countries, including Turkiye, China, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the Marshall Islands.

"The sanctioned vessels include crude oil, petroleum products, liquefied petroleum gas, chemical and bitumen tankers operating under various national flags," Al Jazeera reported, citing OFAC's statement.

The Treasury said the latest action effectively neutralises the vast majority of Iran's remaining shadow fleet network, which it said Tehran relies on to move billions of dollars' worth of petroleum and petroleum products.

"Today's action represents the most significant blow yet to Iran's remaining illicit maritime infrastructure by neutralising the vast majority of the shadow fleet," a Treasury official told reporters, as reported by Al Jazeera.

According to a press release issued by the Treasury, the designated vessels have transported millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil, petroleum and petrochemical products to markets in South and East Asia.