The United States has widened sanctions on Iran’s oil sector, targeting the shipping network once run by petroleum magnate, Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the US Treasury Department announced on Tuesday.
Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, disclosed that the department also froze $130 million held in digital wallets linked to Iran’s central bank, striking at a cryptocurrency sector that has seen a surge in activity since the war began.
The fresh sanctions came as US forces carried out a fourth consecutive day of strikes on Iran and reimposed a naval blockade, while Iran retaliated by hitting ships in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the International Maritime Organisation.
Iran had begun blocking the strait, a critical energy transit route, following US-Israeli attacks in February. Washington had earlier imposed a blockade on Iranian ports from mid-April to mid-June.
“This action is part of Treasury’s ongoing efforts to ramp up economic pressure on the Iranian regime after it resumed destabilising attacks in the Strait of Hormuz,” the Treasury Department said in a statement.
It accused the Shamkhani network of remaining a key driver of Iran’s oil exports while expanding into global commodities trading.
The new measures target more than 50 individuals, entities, and vessels accused of helping Iranian authorities profit from oil exports, bringing the total sanctioned under Shamkhani’s network to over 200.
Shamkhani is the son of Ali Shamkhani, a former Iranian security official and adviser to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Both father and son were killed on February 28, the first day of the US-Israeli offensive that triggered the ongoing Middle East war.
Bessent said the department “sanctioned multiple wallets tied to the Central Bank of Iran, resulting in the freeze of over $130 million,” adding on X: “We will continue to aggressively follow the money and deny the Iranian regime access to the proceeds of its illicit revenue schemes.”
Analysts say digital asset platforms have become a tool for Iran to sidestep sanctions on its Revolutionary Guards, while also serving as a financial lifeline for ordinary citizens grappling with soaring inflation.
Iran has been largely isolated from the global financial system due to long-standing US and European sanctions predating the war, with cryptocurrency offering citizens and businesses a workaround to transact internationally.
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