Treasury sanctions Iranian officials and shadow banking network tied to protest crackdown

WASHINGTON, January 15, 2026 — The U.S. Treasury Department said Thursday that the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned senior Iranian officials involved in the regime’s crackdown on peaceful demonstrators and separately targeted a shadow banking network used to launder proceeds from Iranian petroleum and petrochemical sales. Treasury said the measures are aimed at both the architects of the protest repression and the financial channels that help sustain the regime.

Among those named is Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security, whom Treasury described as one of the first Iranian leaders to call for violence in response to protesters’ demands. Treasury also said Iranian security forces have used live ammunition against demonstrators since protests began in December 2025, and cited abuses by security forces and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps elements in Lorestan Province.

Treasury said OFAC also designated 18 individuals and entities that it accused of laundering proceeds from Iranian oil and petrochemical exports through clandestine networks tied to already sanctioned Iranian financial institutions Bank Melli and Shahr Bank. The department said those revenues have been diverted to repression at home and support for terrorist groups abroad rather than benefiting the Iranian public.

The action was taken under Executive Orders 13553, 13876 and 13902, combining human rights, Supreme Leader-related and sectoral Iran authorities. Treasury said the move also advances the administration’s broader maximum-pressure campaign against Iran’s shadow banking, money laundering and sanctions evasion networks.

Treasury added that it sanctioned more than 875 persons, vessels and aircraft in 2025 as part of that campaign, underscoring the scale of recent U.S. pressure on Iran’s financial and energy networks.