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OFAC targets Hormuz scheme
The U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on eight tankers and on companies that own them, targeting what it describes as a shadow fleet tied to Iran’s oil shipments and insurance schemes connected to the Strait of Hormuz.
“The U.S. Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on eight tankers from Iran”
The measures included ships registered in China and the Marshall Islands, flying flags of Mozambique, Barbados, Vanuatu, and the Marshall Islands, and the Treasury said the tankers transported millions of barrels of Iranian oil to China and hundreds of thousands of barrels of oil products to the United Arab Emirates.
The Treasury also sanctioned two companies it said play a key role in collecting funds from ships for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, including Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company and HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority.
In the same release, the U.S. said Iran created “illegal schemes to extort ships attempting to carry out ordinary commercial voyages through the Strait of Hormuz,” and it framed the Strait as strategically important because a large portion of Persian Gulf oil passes through it.
The sanctions were imposed under Executive Order 13902, which targets Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors as part of the Trump administration’s renewed “maximum pressure” campaign.
Bessent: no hostage-taking
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the United States “will not allow Iran to hold global commerce hostage or use international shipping to finance the IRGC’s terrorism, aggression, and repression,” as the Treasury linked the sanctions to an insurance requirement for vessels transiting the strait.
The Treasury said the Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company and HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority broker IRGC-approved insurance policies for commercial vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, including payments in digital assets such as Bitcoin designed to evade sanctions.
The Treasury also said it has now sanctioned more than 100 vessels tied to Iran’s shadow fleet since the beginning of the year, describing the network as a key source of revenue for Tehran despite existing sanctions.
Shafaq News reported that the United States added eight tankers and 10 Iran-linked entities to its sanctions list, with the entities registered in Iran, Hong Kong, and the Marshall Islands and operating in shipping, vessel management, freight, and maritime insurance.
Shafaq News also said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei previously called U.S. restrictions on Iranian oil trade “illegal,” accusing Washington of obstructing Tehran’s legitimate commerce with its economic partners.
Navy enforcement and next steps
The U.S. State Department said the designations support U.S. Navy enforcement of a blockade on Iranian ports and coastline, and it described the sanctions as part of a wider campaign that has sanctioned more than 100 vessels in 2026 as part of Iran’s shadow fleet.
“support US Navy enforcement of a blockade on Iranian ports and coastline”
In a statement carried by Anadolu Ajansı, State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott argued that two Iranian entities backed by the IRGC run coercive “insurance” schemes that extort international shipping transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
Anadolu Ajansı reported that the U.S. Treasury added the firms and vessels to its Specially Designated Nationals list, citing Executive Order 13902, which targets Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors.
Kurdistan24 said the Treasury accused HormuzSafe of accepting Bitcoin and other digital assets as payment to bypass Western sanctions, and it said the Treasury also blocked eight vessels linked to the sanctioned companies.
The U.S. framing in the sources ties the sanctions to disrupting Iran’s oil exports and cutting off revenue streams used to support the IRGC and other activities targeted by U.S. sanctions, while the Strait of Hormuz remains a central flashpoint in the conflict described by the reporting.
