The United States has announced sweeping new economic sanctions on Iran and countries that trade with it as it seeks to apply more economic pressure to isolate the country from the global economy during a diplomatic deadlock during their war.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday announced the measures, describing the campaign as the “economic asphyxiation” of Iran as the US-Israeli war on the country nears its six-month mark.
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“Around the globe, our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone,” Bessent said at a news briefing.
The US Department of the Treasury imposed new sanctions on nearly 60 individuals and entities, targeting networks accused by Washington of helping Iran generate oil revenue, procure weapons and conduct cyberoperations.
Iran has rejected the latest US sanctions. Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh said the new measures will fail. “US sanctions against us are not new. We have programmes to counter American sanctions, and Washington cannot achieve its goals by severing the arteries of our economy,” he was quoted as saying by the Fars News Agency.
Here is what you need to know:
Who are the 60 entities targeted and why?
The US Treasury Department said the latest measures target companies and vessels involved in networks supporting Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes, cyberoperations and oil-revenue generation.
The wider sanctions campaign focuses on five sectors that Washington said sustain Iran’s economy: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping.
Bessent said his department has mapped the networks, facilitators and financial channels Iran uses to smuggle oil and evade sanctions.
Entities and individuals targeted are spread from the Middle East to China, Singapore and Europe. According to the Treasury Department, one major target is a procurement network of more than 20 people and entities across the Middle East and East Asia that is accused of helping Iran obtain sensitive technology for nuclear research and ballistic missile development.
“The network has enabled Iran to obtain highly sensitive dual‑use technology through a sprawling system of front companies, covert financial channels, and logistics intermediaries across East Asia, allowing sanctioned Iranian military institutions to disguise end users and evade global export controls,” the US Treasury said in a statement.
Below are the entities based in Iran and beyond that are impacted by the sanctions:
Iran
Iranian government ministries have been the primary targets, including the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and the Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).
Organisations associated with them are also on the sanctions list, including Iran-based logistics firm Noavaran Axis Private Joint Stock Company (BRE Line), which the US Treasury accused of facilitating shipments to the already-sanctioned Organization of Defensive Research and Innovation, which is part of MODAFL.
The US also sanctioned several individuals related to the MOIS, including Mohammad Hossein Aslani, Reza Kadkhodai and Arman Kahzadian, who it accused of being involved in cyberactivities.
Hong Kong
Sweet Ocean Industrial Ltd was among the dozen or so Hong Kong-based entities sanctioned. The US Treasury accused it of acting as an intermediary for sensitive equipment destined for Malek Ashtar University of Technology in Iran, which is sanctioned by the US, European Union and United Nations. Several companies linked to its procurement network, including RPT Technology Ltd and Shenzhen Sweet Ocean Technology Ltd, were also targeted.
Feili Co Ltd, Minvur Ltd, Feisu Ltd and Guska Co Ltd were also sanctioned for allegedly being part of a procurement network benefitting multiple Iranian end users.
Three companies accused of facilitating payments for Iran’s “clandestine ‘shadow banking’ networks”, including for Iranian exchanges Seyyed Mohammad Mosannai Najibi and Partners Co, already under US sanctions, were also targeted by the new measures.
Tiany Technology Ltd and MT Trading and Logistics HK Ltd were sanctioned for acting as intermediaries for Shenzhen Sweet Ocean Technology Ltd.
The Hong Kong-registered shipping company Shipoil Ltd was also accused of coordinating bunkering and other services for vessels carrying Iranian crude oil and petroleum products for sanctioned entities, such as the Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Corp, Triliance Petrochemical, National Iranian Tanker Company and the network of Iranian oil magnate Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani.
Others slapped with sanctions are: Sky Oil and Gas Asia, Vienna Shipping Co and Riqueza Group Ltd.
China
The sanctioned Chinese entities appear on the US list primarily for helping with procurement, logistics and shipping support for Iran’s nuclear, missile and oil‑revenue networks.
At the core of the procurement network is Shenzhen Sweet Ocean Technology Ltd, a China‑based firm specialising in test instruments, lab devices, optical and electronic products, and acting as a procurement and sourcing agent for Iranian customers. Its director, Tian Jianbai, was also sanctioned.
Shenzhen Huamei Lianyun International Logistics Co Ltd was sanctioned for serving as the designated service provider in China for Iran‑based BRE Line, facilitating shipments to Iran’s Organization of Defensive Research and Innovation, the entity the US said is responsible for nuclear weapons research.
Additionally, logistics firms Shenzhen Bositong Logistics Co Ltd, Bositong Supply Chain Shenzhen Co Ltd and shipping company Lilimoon Navigation Inc were also sanctioned.
Singapore
Several Singapore‑registered entities are designated for operating in the petroleum sector of the Iranian economy or for being owned or controlled by individuals already tied to the sanctioned Iranian oil trade.
Azure Shipping Pte Ltd is singled out for its work with the National Iranian Tanker Company. Its former owner, Singapore‑based Mansoor Tayabbhai Gandhi, was also sanctioned, together with two shipping companies he owns, Trans Arctic Global Marine Services and Arc Chartering.
Singapore-based Wellbred Capital Pte Ltd and its subsidiaries in Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates, which specialise in petrochemicals, were targeted for acting on behalf of Iranian oil magnate Shamkhani.
Malaysia
Vast Mart Sdn Bhd was accused of transferring funds to Hong Kong-based Sweet Ocean on “multiple occasions”.
United Kingdom
Shipping company Estanica Trading Ltd was included on the sanctions list for operating a Gambia-flagged vessel that allegedly transported hundreds of thousands of barrels of Iranian oil.
France
La Nivernaise de Raffinage SAS, a cooking oil company, was sanctioned for being owned by the Swiss branch of Wellbred Trading.
Syria
UAE-based businessman and Syrian national Mohammad Ahmed Suhil Fattouh was accused of being a broker for Iranian shadow fleets, including the previously sanctioned National Iranian Oil Company and the oil sales arm of the Iranian military’s General Staff.
Ukraine
UAE-based businessman Ivan Obukhov was accused of being a broker for Iranian shadow fleets, including for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Marshall Islands
The Sifra Shipping Co was sanctioned for operating the Botswana-flagged vessel SIFRA and allegedly transporting hundreds of thousands of barrels of Iranian liquefied petroleum gas and ethylene.
Greece
Greek nationals Almpertos Tsoris and Georgios Tsoris were linked to the Shipoil network and accused of coordinating with sanctioned Iranian entities and providing bunkering services.
Which countries have been affected?
- Iran
- China, including Hong Kong
- Singapore
- Switzerland
- UAE
- Malaysia
- Marshall Islands
- UK
- France
- Syria
- Ukraine
- Greece
Who did the US spare?
Chinese financial institutions suspected of facilitating Iran’s oil trade were among the most notable omissions from the sanctions list.
Bessent declined to identify the countries that could face future secondary sanctions or say when those penalties would take effect. Instead, he said Washington would give countries and companies time to cut their business ties with Iran.
“Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?” Bessent said.
The approach appears particularly significant because China has been Iran’s biggest buyer of oil for several years. Washington may be wary of provoking Chinese retaliation, particularly because Beijing is a major supplier of critical minerals.
How has Iran reacted?
Iranian government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani said the government and President Masoud Pezeshkian will guide Iran through these developments.
“The government and the president, with wisdom and resolve, will guide the country through this phase as well. We do not deny the economic hardships; but with sound judgment and by preserving unity, as in days past, we will pass through this intense gauntlet,” she wrote in a post on X.
Sardar Mohebi, an IRGC spokesperson, said the US resorting to economic warfare against Iran is itself proof of its defeat on the battlefield.
Ali Akbar Dareini, a researcher at the Centre for Strategic Studies in Tehran, said Iran is so accustomed to sanctions that it will not be hindered too greatly by the new list the US announced.
“[Iran] has a PhD in circumventing sanctions, so Iran is absolutely sure that it will emerge victorious and the US once again will fail in its efforts to suffocate Iran,” Dareini told Al Jazeera.
“The goal of the sanctions is to bring about an economic collapse and cause riots in Iran, but this is based on a big, massive miscalculation like America’s military war of aggression against Iran on February 28 that failed.”
What has been the reaction from other nations?
China insisted US sanctions will not resolve the conflict.
“Cooperation between China and Iran has always been conducted within the framework of international law and should not be interfered with or disrupted,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Tuesday.
“China has already stated many times that it firmly opposes illegal unilateral sanctions. … China will take all necessary measures to firmly safeguard its own rights and interests,” he added.
Former UN special rapporteur and US lawyer Alfred-Maurice de Zayas said Washington is likely to take a hit itself from its latest economic measures.
“Trump is imposing additional measures on Iran and threatening countries that do not bend to US orders. This will boomerang because more and more countries feel offended by US arrogance and resent the threats. They draw rational conclusions: decouple from the dollar,” de Zayas said in a post on X.
He denounced Trump’s actions as “criminal” and “coercive”, warning that “more and more countries” understood that Iran was fighting for its “sovereignty and self-determination”.
What were the previous sanctions on Iran?
Iran has been under US sanctions since its 1979 revolution toppled its Washington-backed ruler Reza Shah Pahlavi. The UN and the EU have also imposed sanctions on Tehran that target its nuclear and missile programmes.
In 1995, US President Bill Clinton banned US trade with and investment in Iran. In the mid- to late 2000s, the US imposed a set of new sanctions against Iran, including adding more than 20 organisations associated with the IRGC and three state-owned banks.
The 2015 nuclear deal that Iran signed with the US, the four other permanent UN Security Council members, Germany and the EU provided temporary relief. However, the US under Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018, initiating a “maximum pressure” campaign that reimposed sanctions on Iranian oil exports, shipping and financial sectors.
