US says sanctions hit Iran ‘shipping empire' linked to top Tehran official

Al Jazeera

6 days ago

The United States Department of the Treasury has imposed new sanctions on more than 100 Iran-linked individuals, companies and ocean-going vessels in what it described as its 'largest Iran-related action since 2018'.
The sanctions, announced on Wednesday, target more than 50 vessels which the Treasury Department describes as being part of a 'vast shipping empire' of oil tankers and container ships controlled by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of a senior political adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
'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 Treasury Department said in a statement, describing the sanctions package as a 'massive action' against an Iranian family network.
'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 behaviour,' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
Bessent said the sanctions on 115 individuals, entities and vessels were 'the largest to-date since the Trump Administration implemented our campaign of maximum pressure on Iran'.
An Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson called the new sanctions 'a clear example of America's hostility towards the Iranian nation', according to the country's Student News Network.
According to a US Treasury statement, the Shamkhani family controls a significant portion of Iran's crude oil exports and while Ali Shamkhani – father of Hossein and adviser to Supreme Leader Khamenei – was sanctioned by the US in 2020, the family owns exclusive properties around the world and has obtained foreign passports, which allow them to 'travel undetected' to conduct business overseas.
'Layers of front companies with an innocuous appearance and no easily discernible connection to Hossein's network allow it to accrue enormous profits while avoiding outside scrutiny,' the department said.
In total, the new sanctions target 15 shipping firms, 52 vessels, 12 individuals and 53 entities involved in sanctions evasion in 17 countries, ranging from Panama to Italy to Hong Kong, the Reuters news agency reports.
A US official told the news agency that the sanctions would make it 'much more difficult' for Iran to sell its oil, but added that the US administration did not anticipate any sustained disruption to global oil markets.
China is the top international buyer of Iran's oil.
The newly announced sanctions come after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said any new act of aggression against Iran will lead to a strong reaction.
Posting on social media on Monday, Araghchi responded to comments by US President Donald Trump, who threatened new attacks on Iran if the country attempts to restart its nuclear programme.
'Iran, a nation with a rich culture originating from 7,000 years of civilisation, will never respond to the language of threat and intimidation. Iranians have never bowed down before any foreigners and respond only to respect,' Araghchi wrote on X.
'Iran knows exactly what happened during the recent American-Israeli aggression, both to us and our adversaries – including the extent of blows that are still being censored. If aggression is repeated, we will not hesitate to react in a more decisive manner and in a way that will be IMPOSSIBLE to cover up,' he said.
'No one in their right mind would abandon the fruits of tremendous investment in homegrown and peaceful technology which is saving lives – and simply because [bullying] foreigners demand it,' he added.
Iran, a nation with a rich culture originating from 7000 years of civilization, will never respond to the language of threat and intimidation. Iranians have never bowed down before any foreigners and respond only to respect.
Iran knows exactly what happened during the recent…
— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) July 28, 2025