US sanctions major Iranian shipping network

The Trump administration has imposed sweeping sanctions on a major Iranian shipping network tied to the son of a top political adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader.

This move marks an escalation of the US “maximum pressure” campaign on Tehran following recent strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites.

“Today, Treasury is sanctioning more than 115 individuals, entities and vessels that make up a vast shipping empire controlled by Mohammed (Hossein) Shamkhani,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury, Michael Faulkender.

Hossein Shamkhani is the son of Ali Shamkhani, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader.

“Hossein Shamkhani’s network, which controls a significant portion of Iran’s crude oil exports, has touch points around the world,” Faulkender said.

“It’s a clear example of Iran’s flagrant abuse of the international financial system, helping both the regime and Hossein Shamkhani himself generate billions of dollars.”

According to US officials, the Iranian shipping network enables the global sale of Iranian and Russian oil, much of it going to China.

They say the new penalties represent the most significant US sanctions against Iran in recent years.

The move comes amid reports that President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, has told others that pursuing new nuclear talks with Iran is no longer a short-term goal.

This follows last month’s US strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. would continue pressing Iran until a new agreement is reached.

“The Trump administration will continue to impose a policy of maximum pressure on the Iranian regime until Iran accepts a deal that advances regional peace and stability and in which Iran forgoes all aspirations of a nuclear weapon,” Rubio said.

“Today’s actions underscore our resolve to target those who enable Iran’s illicit oil and petrochemical trade and to cut off the regime’s means of funding its destabilising activities,” he added.

Oil sales remain a key source of income for Iran’s government.

At the beginning of the year, Iran exported about 1.8 million barrels of oil per day.

Now, US figures show that the number has fallen to 1.2 million barrels.

During Trump’s first term, sanctions cut exports to just hundreds of thousands of barrels per day, a Treasury official said.

Following the latest strikes, the US reportedly attempted to reopen nuclear talks with Iran using intermediaries.

However, those talks have not resumed.

“They would like to talk. I’m in no rush to talk because we obliterated their site,” Trump said in July.

In private conversations, Witkoff has said the targeted nuclear sites were severely damaged.

He believes it could take Iran ten years to restart uranium enrichment. However, the Pentagon offers a different view.

U.S. intelligence suggests the strikes delayed Iran’s nuclear program by just one to two years.

CNN reached out to Witkoff’s office for comment.

(CNN)

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