US expands sanctions targeting Iran oil, cryptocurrency sectors

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, the Treasury Department said.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department had also frozen $130 million held in digital wallets linked to Iran's central bank, hitting a sector that has seen increased activity since the start of the war.

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, according to the International Maritime Organization.

Iran started blocking the strait -- a key waterway for energy transit -- after US-Israel attacks in February. Washington imposed an initial blockade on Tehran's ports from mid-April to mid-June.

"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.

The Treasury Department added that it has now imposed sanctions on over 200 individuals, entities and vessels operating under Shamkhani's patronage.

Shamkhani is the son of security official Ali Shamkhani, an advisor to Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.

Both were killed February 28, the first day of US-Israeli attacks and the start of the Middle East war.

Bessent said the department "sanctioned multiple wallets tied to the Central Bank of Iran, resulting in the freeze of over $130 million."

"We will continue to aggressively follow the money and deny the Iranian regime access to the proceeds of its illicit revenue schemes," he said in a post on X.

Experts say digital asset platforms have been used to circumvent sanctions placed on Iran's Revolutionary Guards and as a financial safe haven for civilians hit by soaring inflation.

Iran has largely been cut off from the global financial system due to US and European sanctions in place for years before the war. Cryptocurrency has offered a path for citizens and businesses to transact with the rest of the world.