Treasury targets Iranian oil business as maximum pressure continues

The U.S. Treasury Department is ramping up its fight against Iranian oil profits this week with a slew of sanctions targeting 50 companies, individuals and vessels that facilitate the sale of Iranian liquid petroleum gas.

The new punishment targets a network reportedly responsible for transporting millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil via shadow fleet vessels and Chinese-based oil terminals and refineries.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the new sanctions are key to curbing the Iranian regime’s oil profits, which, he said, put U.S. service members in danger around the world.

“The Treasury Department is degrading Iran’s cash flow by dismantling key elements of Iran’s energy export machine,” Mr. Bessent said in a release Thursday. “Under President Trump, this administration is disrupting the regime’s ability to fund terrorist groups that threaten the United States.”

This week’s sanctions follow three other rounds of restrictions from earlier this year targeting Chinese-based organizations that buy Iranian oil.

The Treasury Department added that the sanctions are part of President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic.

Tehran’s oil sales to allies, primarily China, have been a crucial revenue source for the regime despite Western economic sanctions. In its release, the Treasury Department singled out China-based oil refinery Shandong Jincheng Petrochemical Group, which has reportedly purchased millions of barrels of Iranian oil since 2023.

The sanctions will also target Chinese-based oil terminals, which reportedly receive Iranian oil from dozens of shadow vessels that are also targeted in the new punishment. Shadow vessels are unregistered ships tasked with transporting illicit materials, often oil, from sanctioned nations.

The Treasury Department reports that the Islamic Republic frequently employs shadow vessels to obscure the origins of its shipments in the Persian Gulf and off the coasts of Singapore and Malaysia.

While many of the new sanctions target organizations based in China, the new actions appear to target Iran’s revenue sources broadly. In addition to China, other organizations or vessels based in Singapore, Liberia, India and Bangladesh were mentioned in the new sanctions.

The punishment comes as Iran faces increased pressure from the international community through U.N. Security Council-backed snapback sanctions, which went into effect in September. Those sanctions include an arms embargo, restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program, travel restrictions and asset freezes.