US Sanctions Sprawling Iranian Oil Smuggling Network Linked To Khamenei
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent: "With today’s sanctions, Treasury has sanctioned over 500 Iranian and Iran-linked targets this year in line with President Trump’s max pressure campaign."
The US Treasury Department released this statement today (Wednesday) regarding the sanctioning of a core part of Iran's illicit oil smuggling network:
"Today, in its largest Iran-related action since 2018, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) is designating more than 50 individuals and entities and identifying more than 50 vessels that are part of the vast shipping empire controlled by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani (Hossein). Hossein - the son of Ali Shamkhani, a top political advisor to the Supreme Leader of Iran - leverages corruption through his father’s political influence at the highest levels of the Iranian regime to build and operate a massive fleet of tankers and containerships. This network transports oil and petroleum products from Iran and Russia, as well as other cargo, to buyers around the world, generating tens of billions of dollars in profit.
“The Shamkhani family’s shipping empire highlights how the Iranian regime elites leverage their positions to accrue massive wealth and fund the regime’s dangerous behavior,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “The over 115 sanctions issued today are the largest to-date since the Trump Administration implemented our campaign of maximum pressure on Iran. These actions put America first by targeting regime elites that profit while Tehran threatens the safety of the United States.”
"Hossein’s network exerts control over a significant portion of Iran’s crude oil exports, the proceeds of which substantially benefit his family and the Iranian regime. His father, Ali Shamkhani was previously sanctioned by the U.S. in 2020. The Shamkhani family further exploits their ill-gotten wealth to obtain access to benefits unavailable to everyday Iranians, including owning exclusive properties around the world and obtaining foreign passports in exchange for substantial financial investments. These passports allow them to travel undetected and hide their connections to Iran when conducting business overseas in furtherance of their corrupt schemes."