The United States has said it is tightening sanctions against Iran’s oil sector as Tehran keeps up its closure of the Strait of Hormuz. According to the Treasury Department, the new sanctions target oil transport infrastructure relating to more than two dozen people, companies and ships that operate within the network of petroleum shipping magnate Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani.
“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,” US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent said in a statement, alluding to a financial pressure campaign against Iran.
According to AFP, Shamkhani is the son of Iranian security official, Ali Shamkhani, who is also an advisor to thw supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, both of whom were killed on February 28, the first day of US-Israeli attacks and the start of the Middle East war.
“The United States is acting to decisively limit Iran’s ability to generate revenue as it attempts to hold the Strait of Hormuz hostage,” the State Department said in a separate communique. Iran has effectively shut down the Strait of Hormuz, a key transit route for shipping oil and gas, in retaliation for the US and Israeli war campaign.
The United States is now engaged in a naval blockade of Iran’s ports. The Treasury Department last week said it would not extend a temporary sanctions waiver that allowed the sale of Iranian oil already at sea. This had been an attempt to ease pressure on oil prices that shot up because of the war.
The United States alleges that the Shamkhani network, which operates in Iran and the United Arab Emirates, dodges sanctions through a group of seemingly legitimate consulting and shipping companies that run the network’s fleet.
