The United States on Tuesday expanded its sanctions targeting Iran’s oil sector, taking further aim at the network of petroleum shipping magnate Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, said the Treasury Department.
The move came after US forces carried out a fourth straight day of strikes against Iran and reimposed a naval blockade, with Iran in turn hitting ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
“This action is part of Treasury’s ongoing efforts to ramp up economic pressure on the Iranian regime after it resumed destabilizing attacks in the Strait of Hormuz,” the Treasury Department said in a notice Tuesday.
It charged that the Shamkhani network remains a key force behind Iran’s oil exports, and has expanded into global commodities trading.
The latest move took aim at more than 50 individuals, entities and vessels that it said enabled Iranian authorities to reap profit.
