The United States on July 30 imposed sweeping sanctions on a major shipping network controlled by the son of a top aide to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in what the Treasury Department called its largest Iran-related action since 2018.
The Treasury said it sanctioned more than 50 individuals and entities, and “more than 50 vessels that are part of the vast shipping empire controlled by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, son of Ali Shamkhani, a senior political adviser to Khamenei.”
The statement described how Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani “leverages corruption through his father’s political influence at the highest levels of the Iranian regime to build and operate a massive fleet of tankers and containerships.”
The network reportedly transports oil and petroleum products from Iran and Russia, generating tens of billions of dollars in profit.
“The Shamkhani family’s shipping empire highlights how the Iranian regime elites leverage their positions to accrue massive wealth and fund the regime’s dangerous behavior,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Earlier this month, the EU also sanctioned Shamkhani and his companies for ties to Russia, its oil trade, and the so-called “shadow fleet” — an estimated 350 ships with opaque ownership structures designed to evade Western sanctions.
Ali Shamkhani, the father, was previously sanctioned by the United States in 2020 for his role as an admiral with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The latest action targeted over 115 individuals, companies, and vessels worldwide, including firms based in Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, the UAE, and other countries.
A spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry called the new US sanctions “an evil act aimed at harming Iran’s economic development and the welfare of its people.”
Separately, the US State Department said it was sanctioning 20 more entities — including firms in India, Indonesia, Turkey, and the UAE — for involvement in the trade of Iranian oil.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said the measures are intended to “disrupt the Iranian regime’s ability to fund its destabilizing activities, including its nuclear program, support for terrorist groups, and oppression of its own people.”
Reuters quoted a US official saying the move would make it “much more difficult” for Iran to sell its oil but was unlikely to significantly disrupt global energy markets. Iranian oil exports have already fallen to about 1.2 million barrels a day, down from 1.8 million at the start of the year.
