WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday expanded sanctions targeting Iran’s oil sector, imposing new measures on a network linked to petroleum shipping magnate Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani while freezing more than $130 million in digital assets connected to Iran’s central bank.
The US Treasury Department said the sanctions are part of Washington’s campaign to intensify economic pressure on Tehran after renewed hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department had frozen over $130 million held in digital wallets linked to the Central Bank of Iran, targeting a financial channel that has gained importance since the conflict intensified.
.@USTreasury is committed to disrupting and degrading Iran’s illicit financial activities, including its abuse of digital assets. Today, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned multiple wallets tied to the Central Bank of Iran, resulting in the freeze of over $130…
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) July 14, 2026
“We will continue to aggressively follow the money and deny the Iranian regime access to the proceeds of its illicit revenue schemes,” Bessent said in a post on X.
The latest sanctions target more than 50 individuals, companies and vessels that the Treasury said facilitate Iran’s oil exports and help generate revenue for the Iranian government.
According to the department, the Shamkhani network has become a major force behind Iran’s petroleum exports while expanding into global commodities trading. The Treasury said it has now sanctioned more than 200 individuals, entities and vessels associated with the network.
Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani is the son of senior Iranian security official Ali Shamkhani, an adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Both were reported killed on February 28, the first day of US-Israeli attacks that triggered the current regional conflict.
The sanctions announcement came after US forces carried out a fourth consecutive day of strikes against Iranian targets and reimposed a naval blockade on Iran. Iran has responded by attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the International Maritime Organisation.
Iran began restricting traffic through the strategic waterway following US-Israeli attacks in February, while Washington previously enforced a naval blockade on Iranian ports from mid-April to mid-June.
In a statement, the Treasury Department said the latest action forms part of its continuing effort to increase economic pressure on Iran following what it described as Tehran’s destabilising actions in the Strait of Hormuz.
Experts say cryptocurrencies have increasingly been used in Iran to bypass long-standing US and European sanctions, allowing businesses and individuals to conduct international transactions despite the country’s isolation from the global financial system.
