The US announced new sanctions targeting Iran's oil sector on April 15, 2026

 The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on more than two dozen individuals, companies, and vessels involved in Iran’s illicit oil transportation network. This action focuses on the multi-billion-dollar smuggling empire run by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani (an Iranian oil shipping magnate and son of the late senior Iranian official Ali Shamkhani). It also hits a separate network financing Hezbollah and the IRGC-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) through an oil-for-gold scheme with Venezuela.

Key targets (summary from Treasury)

Individuals: Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani; Seyed Naiemaei Badroddin Moosavi (Hezbollah financier linked to IRGC-QF); UAE- and India-based operators like Chetan Prakash Balhotra and Tanjore Sunilkumar Srinivas.

Companies: Front and logistics firms including Oriel Group, Corplinx Consultancy, House of Shipping Investment FZCO (and its Indian subsidiary), Meritron DMCC, Taylor Shipping FZCO, and others in the UAE, India, Marshall Islands, and Netherlands. These disguise operations through consulting, ship management, and procurement.

Vessels: Nine tankers (e.g., AURA, which has carried over 3 million barrels of Iranian LPG since early 2025; others involved in Russian and Iranian petroleum shipments).

This builds on a major July 2025 sanctions package against the same Shamkhani network (OFAC’s largest single action under the revived “maximum pressure” campaign) and fits into broader efforts since National Security Presidential Memorandum 2 (NSPM-2). The separate oil-for-gold scheme involved smuggling Iranian oil to Venezuela in exchange for gold (later sent to Iran/Türkiye to fund Hezbollah and IRGC-QF), using ship-to-ship transfers, AIS spoofing, and front companies.

Official statements and context

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said:

“Treasury is moving aggressively with Economic Fury by targeting regime elites like the Shamkhani family that attempt to profit at the expense of the Iranian people.”

He added that the US will use secondary sanctions against those continuing to support Tehran’s activities, warning financial institutions directly.

The State Department framed it as limiting Iran’s revenue “as it attempts to hold the Strait of Hormuz hostage” amid the ongoing Mideast war (now in its seventh week, with US naval blockade of Iranian ports and Iran’s closure of the Strait).

This comes days after the US confirmed it will not renew the temporary sanctions waiver on Iranian oil at sea (issued in March 2026 to ease war-related supply shocks; it expires April 19 and previously allowed ~140 million barrels onto the market). Bessent explicitly warned buyers (including China, which has bought most of Iran’s oil) that secondary sanctions are now on the table if Iranian funds flow through their banks.

These measures are part of the Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” policy to cut off Iran’s main revenue source (oil exports) and disrupt financing for proxies, while the conflict continues. No immediate reactions from Iran or China were detailed in initial reports, but the moves signal tighter enforcement amid diplomatic tensions.