The USA on Wednesday slapped sanctions on a transport empire managed by the son of a prime political advisor to Iran’s supreme chief, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Treasury Division mentioned the sanctions have been being imposed on corporations and vessels operated by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani, who has been topic to US sanctions since 2020.
It mentioned Hossein operates a fleet of greater than 50 tankers and container ships that transport Iranian and Russian oil and petroleum merchandise, producing tens of billions of {dollars} in revenue.
“The Shamkhani household’s transport empire highlights how the Iranian regime elites leverage their positions to accrue huge wealth and fund the regime’s harmful habits,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent mentioned in a press release.
The Treasury Division mentioned greater than 115 people, company entities and vessels have been being sanctioned, together with corporations primarily based in Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates and different international locations.
“The over 115 sanctions issued at this time are the most important to-date for the reason that Trump Administration applied our marketing campaign of most strain on Iran,” Bessent mentioned.
The Treasury Division mentioned Hossein’s community “includes an enormous fleet of vessels, ship administration companies, and entrance corporations… that launder billions in income from world gross sales of Iranian and Russian crude oil and different petroleum merchandise, most frequently to consumers in China.”
The State Division mentioned individually that it was imposing sanctions on 20 entities, together with corporations in India, Indonesia, Turkey and the UAE, for his or her involvement within the commerce of Iranian petroleum, and 10 vessels.
The sanctions are being imposed greater than a month after america attacked Iran’s nuclear program, hitting a uranium enrichment facility at Fordo, south of Tehran, in addition to nuclear websites in Isfahan and Natanz.
State Division spokeswoman Tammy Bruce mentioned the sanctions are supposed to “disrupt the Iranian regime’s potential to fund its destabilizing actions, together with its nuclear program, assist for terrorist teams, and oppression of its personal folks.”
“As President (Donald) Trump has mentioned, any nation or one who chooses to buy Iranian oil or petrochemicals exposes themselves to the chance of US sanctions and won’t be allowed to conduct enterprise with america,” Bruce mentioned.
She mentioned america will proceed to place “most strain” on Tehran till it “accepts a deal that advances regional peace and stability and through which Iran forgoes all aspirations of a nuclear weapon.”