The United States (US) announced one of its most comprehensive pressures to date on Iran’s petroleum ecosystem, blacklisting a series of front companies, intermediaries, and tankers that Washington claims fund Tehran’s armed forces through clandestine crude oil sales.
This measure, announced by the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) at midnight, also targets six vessels linked to what officials describe as the “global architecture” that enables the Iranian military to transfer billions of dollars worth of oil through its so-called shadow fleet, in addition to entities in the UAE, Panama, Liberia, India, Germany, and Greece.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated, “Disrupting the Iranian regime’s revenues is crucial to helping curb its nuclear ambitions,” describing these sanctions as the latest step in the Trump administration’s maximum pressure campaign.
At the center of the sanctions package is Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars, the oil sales arm of the General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces. OFAC describes this group as one that organizes an intensive disruption system (lessees, front companies, cargo handlers, and logistics intermediaries) while using heavily camouflaged tankers to transport crude oil to end users in Asia at large discounts.
Among the designated entities are UAE-based Luan Bird Shipping Service, Mars Investment, Moon Line Plastics, and Alsafeenah Althahabya; Panama-registered Loire Shipping; Greek company Altomare; Germany’s BPT Berlin Petroleum Trading; and Dubai-based Shandong Independent Energy Trading. The services of these entities range from chartering shadow fleet tonnage and conducting ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf, to arranging documentation, concealing cargo origin, or routing payments (some via cryptocurrency).
Several individuals linked to Sepehr Energy Jahan’s activities were also named, accused of directing AIS manipulation, falsifying ship flags, concealing ownership traces, and securing European banking channels. OFAC accused India-based RN Ship Management and its leadership of operating the sanctioned tonnage, including the crude oil tanker Sobar.
OFAC also identified six more vessels as blocked property, stating they had carried over 10 million barrels of Iranian fuel in the last two years. The new sanctions add to over 170 vessels already sanctioned under the Trump administration. This move is also claimed to have increased the insurance and operational costs of Iranian shipments.
This move also expands sanctions on Mahan Air, which is accused of collaborating with the IRGC-Qods Force to supply materials to regional militant groups and the former Assad regime.
US officials emphasized that these measures are a continuation of the sanctions implemented in February and May, which targeted terrorist financing and Iran’s petroleum sector.
