US targets Iran oil trading network and shadow fleet

WASHINGTON, February 6, 2026 — The United States announced sanctions on a web of companies, vessels and operators spread across multiple jurisdictions that it said were helping Iran sell crude oil, petroleum products and petrochemicals outside formal channels. Washington cast the move as part of a broader effort to squeeze the revenue streams that fund Tehran’s overseas militant activity and domestic repression.

Rather than focusing on a single shipper or front company, the action targeted what officials described as a logistics and trading ecosystem: commercial firms, ship managers and tankers used to keep Iranian energy exports moving through opaque routes. OFAC’s listing shows entities tied to Hong Kong, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, India, China and several shipping jurisdictions, underscoring how widely dispersed the network was.

The package covered 15 entities, two individuals and 14 vessels under Executive Order 13846. The Treasury action shows a mix of crude oil tankers, oil products tankers and LPG carriers, suggesting the network handled more than one segment of Iran’s energy trade.

US officials said the aim was not only to block named parties, but also to raise the cost of doing business with the broader shadow fleet that helps Iran disguise cargo origins, ownership links and shipping routes. Under the sanctions, any property or interests in property of the designated parties in the United States, or under the control of US persons, must be blocked, and US persons are generally barred from dealing with them unless authorized.

The action fits a familiar enforcement pattern: rather than striking solely at Iranian state entities, Washington is going after the commercial middlemen, ship managers and service providers that make sanctioned oil trade possible. That approach is designed to pressure not just Tehran, but also the private-sector facilitators that keep its exports flowing.