The U.S. Treasury Department announced on Monday sanctions against three individuals and nine companies involved in facilitating Iran’s oil shipments to China. The designations, enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), targeted entities and persons assisting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in selling and transporting oil through front companies operating in permissive jurisdictions.
The sanctioned companies include four based in Hong Kong, four in the United Arab Emirates, and one in Oman. According to Treasury officials, these networks allowed the IRGC to use layered corporate structures to bypass restrictions and deliver oil to Chinese buyers. The move builds on sanctions announced on May 8, which addressed individuals and entities supporting Iran’s procurement of weapons components, drones, and ballistic missiles.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the measures are intended to deprive the Iranian government and military of funding for weapons programs, its nuclear ambitions, and support for regional proxies. “Treasury will continue to cut the Iranian regime off from the financial networks it uses to carry out terrorist acts and to destabilize the global economy,” Bessent stated, highlighting ongoing efforts to pressure Tehran.
These sanctions are part of the broader “Economic Fury” initiative aimed at disrupting Iran’s primary revenue source — oil exports — which U.S. officials link to financing military activities. Earlier actions in April and early May targeted Chinese “teapot” refineries, including Hengli Petrochemical, along with dozens of vessels in Iran’s shadow fleet, shipping intermediaries, and related financial facilitators.
U.S. authorities have also warned banks in China, Hong Kong, the UAE, and Oman of secondary sanctions risks for handling Iranian transactions. China has responded to prior designations by instructing affected companies to ignore certain U.S. measures and invoking its anti-foreign sanctions law, reflecting growing tensions over Washington’s unilateral sanctions approach.