U.S. Treasury Sanctions Target Iranian Oil and Procurement Networks

U.S. Treasury sanctioned more than 30 individuals, entities, and vessels tied to Iran’s illicit petroleum sales and procurement networks for ballistic missiles and UAVs in February 2026. Twelve shadow-fleet tankers transporting hundreds of millions of dollars in Iranian oil were designated.

Additional actions in April and May targeted procurement networks across China, Hong Kong, and the Middle East, supplying components for Iranian Shahed-series drones and missiles.

U.S. and allied countries. These dual-use items moved through ordinary commercial channels before Iranian networks acquired them. The same systems have reached Houthi forces in Yemen, whose attacks on commercial shipping sharply reduced Suez Canal traffic and pushed freight rates on major Asia-Europe routes more than 140% above pre-war levels.

U.S. authorities have linked the Irish Kinahan cartel to Iranian oil and aviation operations. Networks connected to the Mocro Mafia and Swedish criminal figure Rawa Majid have supported procurement while carrying out attacks on American, Israeli, and Jewish targets in Europe.

Iranian operative Naji Ibrahim Sharifi-Zindashti has used criminal contractors for assassinations launched from Turkey. European security services have documented more than 100 Iran-linked plots since 1979, with a sharp increase between 2021 and 2024.

In 2023, individuals tied to the Mocro Mafia attempted to assassinate former European Parliament Vice President Alejo Vidal-Quadras in Madrid due to his anti-Ayatollah stance. British authorities have disrupted more than 20 Iran-directed kidnap and assassination plots since 2022, several involving organized crime figures.