Washington DC [US], October 9 (ANI): The United States has announced a fresh round of Iran-related sanctions targeting 27 companies, six individuals and 22 vessels, as the Trump administration intensifies economic pressure on Tehran and seeks to disrupt its oil trade and alleged sanctions-evasion networks, Al Jazeera reported.

According to a press release issued by the US Department of the Treasury, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the latest action was aimed at cutting off revenue used by the Iranian regime and targeting those facilitating Iran's oil sales and sanctions evasion.

"Treasury is starving the tyrannical regime in Tehran of the money it uses to wage war in the region, and we will continue exposing those who enable the regime's oil sales," Bessent said. "No enabler of Iranian sanctions evasion is safe from the full force of Treasury's authorities."

The Treasury said the action, taken under Operation Economic Outcast, targets Iran's remaining shadow fleet, an ageing network of tankers used to transport petroleum and petroleum products to foreign markets. The designations cover shipping operators, maritime management companies and trading firms across several countries, including Turkiye, China, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the Marshall Islands.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the designations cover shipping operators, maritime management companies and trading firms across several countries, including Turkiye, China, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and the Marshall Islands.

"The sanctioned vessels include crude oil, petroleum products, liquefied petroleum gas, chemical and bitumen tankers operating under various national flags," Al Jazeera reported, citing OFAC's statement.

The Treasury said the latest action effectively neutralises the vast majority of Iran's remaining shadow fleet network, which it said Tehran relies on to move billions of dollars' worth of petroleum and petroleum products.

"Today's action represents the most significant blow yet to Iran's remaining illicit maritime infrastructure by neutralising the vast majority of the shadow fleet," a Treasury official told reporters, as reported by Al Jazeera.

According to a press release issued by the Treasury, the designated vessels have transported millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil, petroleum and petrochemical products to markets in South and East Asia. The vessels are registered under various national flags and operated through international companies, which the department said are used to conceal the scale of Iran's shipping network and evade sanctions.

The department said the designations were imposed under Executive Order 13902, which targets Iran's petroleum sector and other key sectors of its economy.

The State Department also announced sanctions against 10 entities, six individuals and five vessels involved in the trade of Iranian-origin petroleum or petrochemical products.

"The United States is using every diplomatic and economic tool to sever Iran's economic lifelines," State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.

Pigott said the Treasury Department was separately sanctioning 17 entities and vessels belonging to Iran's so-called shadow fleet under the same economic pressure campaign.

The latest measures are part of Operation Economic Outcast, announced by Bessent on August 24, 2026, as an effort to target Iran's financial networks, oil sales and sanctions-evasion channels. The Treasury said the campaign was intended to isolate the Iranian regime by targeting sources of illicit revenue and the networks facilitating the movement of funds.

The department said the operation had increased sanctions risks for entities continuing to do business with Iran and warned that those facilitating money laundering or sanctions evasion could be cut off from the US financial system.

Among the vessels identified in the latest action are the Comoros-flagged tanker PARITOSH, which the Treasury said transported more than 100,000 barrels of Iranian bitumen or asphalt in 2026, and the Panama-flagged BITU, which transported more than 170,000 barrels of Iranian bitumen or asphalt this year.

The Treasury also identified STARWAY, a Panama-flagged vessel that it said had transported more than three million barrels of Iranian naphtha since 2025, and GAS LUCKY, a Bahamas-flagged liquefied petroleum gas tanker that had transported more than 500,000 barrels of Iranian ethylene since 2025.

The Treasury also said it was removing two vessels, HAKUNA MATATA and PINOCCHIO, from the sanctions list after determining that they had left Iran's shadow fleet and been sold to non-sanctioned or US-aligned operators.

Under the sanctions, property and interests in property belonging to designated persons that are located in the United States or held by US persons must be blocked and reported to OFAC. The restrictions also apply to entities owned, directly or indirectly, 50 per cent or more by one or more blocked persons, the release said. 

The Treasury warned that violations could result in civil or criminal penalties for US and foreign persons. It also said certain transactions involving designated persons could expose participating foreign financial institutions to secondary sanctions.

The department said sanctions were intended not merely to punish but to bring about a positive change in behaviour, while warning that it would continue to monitor and disrupt attempts to evade restrictions. (ANI)