By Samah Abdel Fattah | 2025-02-20

Taking fresh aim at the Iranian regime's oil smuggling operations, the United States has imposed sweeping sanctions on critical nodes in the regime's illicit network that spans China, India and the United Arab Emirates.

The measures aim to restrict the Islamic Republic's ability to finance its military activities, the US Treasury said in a February 6 statement.

"The Iranian regime remains focused on leveraging its oil revenues to fund the development of its nuclear program, to produce its deadly ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

Oil revenues also "support its regional terrorist proxy groups," he said.

Treasury investigators have exposed elaborate schemes used by Sepehr Energy and its Iranian Armed Forces General Staff (AFGS)-controlled affiliates to mask Iranian oil shipments to international buyers, particularly China.

These involve falsified maritime documents and ship-to-ship transfers.

The illicit sales generate billions in annual revenue for the AFGS, directly funding the Iranian regime's military operations and proxy forces.

In one case, investigators identified the Comoros-flagged vessel Siri (formerly Anthea) attempting to transport millions of barrels of Iranian crude off Singapore's coast under the false identity "New Prime."

The vessel's master, Iranian national Arash Lavian, was caught falsifying shipping documents and physically concealing the vessel's true identity.

Front companies

The new sanctions target the AFGS's front company, Sepehr Energy, and three affiliates – Sepehr Energy Hamta Pars, Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Taban, and Sepehr Energy Paya Gostar Jahan, the Treasury said.

Brig. Gen. Jamshid Eshaghi, who heads the AFGS Office of Budget and Financial Affairs, previously facilitated Iranian crude oil sales to China through Sepehr Energy and in coordination with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

In December, Sepehr Energy and its official Elyas Niroomand Toomaj orchestrated the shipment of nearly two million barrels of Iranian heavy crude oil worth over $100 million aboard the Cameroon-flagged vessel Oxis to China.

Another sanctioned vessel, Gioiosa, transported an additional 700,000 barrels of Iranian oil also destined for China, investigators found.

The US and international efforts "aim to pressure Iran to stop financing terrorist groups and the proxy forces it has planted in many countries," Iranian affairs expert Fathi al-Sayed told Al-Fassel.

He emphasized the importance of "applying pressure on Iran to abandon its subversive plans, including its nuclear weapons development program."

"Supporting terrorist proxies is not possible without oil money," Ain Shams University economics professor Shaher Abdullah told Al-Fassel.

The Iranian regime faces mounting challenges to maintain its military spending when smuggling networks -- oil shipments, weapons transfers and other illegal trade -- are disrupted, he said.