US imposes new sanctions targeting Iran's oil shadow fleet

The United States rolled out new Iran-related sanctions, the Treasury and State Departments announced on Monday, targeting companies and individuals including the head of Iran's national oil company.

The measures target over 30 brokers, tanker operators and shipping firms the treasury department accuses of facilitating the trade from which Iran derives most of its state revenue, including for regional military operations Washington opposes.

They come after President Donald Trump this month reinstated the "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran from his first term, with the stated aim of driving its oil sales to zero.

“Iran continues to rely on a shadowy network of vessels, shippers, and brokers to facilitate its oil sales and fund its destabilizing activities,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement on Monday.

“The United States will use all our available tools to target all aspects of Iran’s oil supply chain, and anyone who deals in Iranian oil exposes themselves to significant sanctions risk.”

Among those sanctioned is Hamid Bovard, Iran’s deputy oil minister and chief of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) as well as Abbass Asadrouz, who leads the NIOC subsidiary that oversees Iran’s oil terminals.

The Iranian Oil Terminals Company oversees Iran’s oil terminals including the Kharg Island Oil Terminal through which most Iranian oil flows and the South Pars Condensate Terminal making up all of Iran’s gas condensate exports, the treasury statement added.

Also in the crosshairs were oil brokers in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates as well as tanker operators in China and India.

"We will continue to disrupt such illicit funding streams for Iran’s malign activities," the State Department said in a separate statement.

"As long as Iran devotes its energy revenues to financing attacks on our allies, supporting terrorism around the world, or pursuing other destabilizing actions, we will use all the tools at our disposal to hold the regime accountable."

Despite US-led sanctions, Iranian oil sales netted $53 billion in 2023 and $54 billion a year earlier, according to official US estimates, and output last year hit its highest since Trump imposed his original maximum pressure sanctions in 2018.

Still, Bloomberg reported last week citing data from energy consultancy Kpler that Iranian daily oil export flows to top customer China had strongly rebounded this month, Trump's first full month in office.

The unexpected rise comes after traders worked around logistical hurdles thrown up by previous US-led sanctions on the exports, the news agency reported.

China does not recognize US sanctions and private companies in the world's number one importer of oil account for almost all of Iran's sales.

Private ports in China are receiving oil from US-sanctioned tankers, Bloomberg reported this month, allowing major buyers of Iranian and Russian crude to avoid restrictions at larger ports.

"China and other countries have supported Iran in order for it to circumvent US sanctions for too long," US Senate foreign relations chairman Jim Risch said after the treasury's announcement.

"After years of President Biden’s refusal to act, I applaud President Trump’s return to maximum pressure," the Idaho Republican said on X.