The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Monday imposed sanctions on 12 individuals and entities accused of facilitating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in selling and transporting oil to China. The sanctions, part of Operation Economic Fury, target a network of front companies that allegedly helped the IRGC disguise its role in Iranian oil shipments and funnel proceeds back to Iran through shell firms in Hong Kong, Dubai, and Oman.
Key targets include three Iranian officials linked to the IRGC’s Shahid Purja’fari Oil Headquarters, which coordinates payments and oversees oil sales. The sanctioned individuals are Ahmad Mohammadi Zadeh (chief), Samad Fathu Salami (finance chief), and Mohammadreza Ashrafi Ghehi (commercial chief). The sanctions also cover companies acting as cover firms for the IRGC, including Hong Kong-based Hong Kong Blue Ocean Limited, Hong Kong Sanmu Limited, Dubai-based Ocean Allianz Shipping LLC, Atic Energy FZE, Oman-based Zeus Logistics Group, and several trading firms accused of purchasing or arranging shipments of Iranian oil.
Officials allege some of these companies coordinated shipments aboard already-sanctioned tankers carrying millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessen stated the sanctions aim to deprive Iran’s regime of funding for its weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions. The move comes amid heightened U.S. economic pressure on Iran, with analysts noting that the sanctions may also be part of broader efforts to leverage China ahead of a scheduled Trump–Xi summit in mid-May.