US Imposes Sanctions on 35 Individuals, Entities for Aiding Iran’s Sanctions Evasions

washington: The US government stepped up pressure on Tehran on Tuesday, imposing sanctions on 35 entities and individuals for their roles in Iran’s shadow banking sector and threatening sanctions against banks doing business with Chinese “teapot” refineries that it said pay tolls for shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said the designated individuals and firms facilitated the movement of the equivalent of tens of billions of dollars tied to sanctions evasion and what it called Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism.

OFAC also warned banks not to do business with any company that paid the Iranian government or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for passage through the Bosphorus and said they faced significant sanctions.

He singled out China’s independent teapot refineries, primarily in Shandong province, for their role in importing and refining Iranian oil, and noted that some of them use the U.S. financial system to conduct dollar-denominated transactions and supply U.S. goods.

China has said it opposes “illegal” unilateral sanctions.

Efforts to end the two-month-long war with Iran reached a stalemate on Tuesday; US President Donald Trump was unhappy with Tehran’s latest plan, which proposes that discussions about its nuclear program be put aside until the conflict is concluded and shipping disputes are resolved.

The Treasury said Tuesday’s sanctions targeted individuals and firms that allowed Iran’s armed forces, including the Revolutionary Guard, to access the international financial system to receive payments for illicit oil sales, buy sensitive components for missiles and other weapons systems and transfer money to Iran’s proxies.

“Iran’s shadow banking system serves as a critical financial lifeline for its armed forces and enables activities that disrupt global trade and fuel violence in the Middle East,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

“Illicit funds transferred through this network support the regime’s ongoing terrorist operations and pose a direct threat to U.S. personnel, regional allies, and the global economy,” he said, adding that any institution that facilitates or engages in these networks risks “serious consequences.”

MORE THAN 1,000 ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS TAKEN

The Treasury Undersecretariat said the appointments were aimed at exposing and disrupting the mechanisms Tehran uses to receive payments for oil and other commodities and reduce its revenue.

Since February 2025, OFAC has imposed sanctions on nearly 1,000 individuals, ships and aircraft with ties to Iran as part of a campaign to apply maximum economic pressure against Iran’s shadow banking, money laundering and sanctions evasion networks.

Iranian banks, cut off from Western financial systems, rely on private companies known as rahbars, which run thousands of shell companies abroad, to process payments for Iran’s imports and exports. These companies then coordinate with other companies to facilitate payments for companies facing sanctions.

The companies facing sanctions include Farab Soroush Afagh Qeshm Company and two of its top executives, who OFAC said worked with Iran’s Shahr Bank to secure Iranian oil sales.

The Treasury Department said OFAC also identified several rahbar companies it said worked with Bank Sinai, controlled by Iran’s supreme leader, and the military-linked Bank Sepah, which finances Iran’s ballistic missile program.

OFAC identified two companies, Nix Energy and Tai Lung Trading, that Treasury said were used in the past to transfer millions of dollars on behalf of sanctioned Iranian individuals.

In a separate warning, the Treasury underlined that it would not allow any payments to Iran or the Revolutionary Guard to US individuals or entities for safe passage across the strait, and that foreign financial institutions “risk exposure to sanctions” for dealing with anyone paying such “transit fees.”

The Trump administration has already imposed sanctions on five Chinese kettle refineries, including Friday’s action against the Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery, one of Iran’s largest customers of crude oil and petroleum products.

U.S. sanctions, which block designated U.S. assets and prevent Americans from doing business with them, have deterred some large independent refiners from buying Iranian oil. According to 2025 data from analysis firm Kpler, China buys more than 80% of the oil shipped by Iran.

Brett Erickson, managing director at Obsidian Risk Advisors, said the Trump administration should go after Chinese banks that are helping Tehran more broadly.

“Washington continues to talk about waging a maximum pressure campaign, but is still avoiding the only move that really matters,” he said. “If you don’t want to target Chinese banks that support the regime in Tehran, you don’t go for the jugular, you make a farce.”