The Treasury Department on Tuesday issued new sanctions for entities and individuals the U.S. accuses of financing Iran’s military.
Washington targeted two “Iranian financial facilitators,” and more than a dozen individuals and entities based in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates that the Trump administration says have facilitated the sale of Iranian oil—the proceeds of which benefit Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Qods Force (IRGC-QF) and Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.
“Iranian ‘shadow banking’ networks like these—run by trusted illicit financial facilitators—abuse the international financial system, and evade sanctions by laundering money through overseas front companies and cryptocurrency,” the Treasury said in a statement.
In a separate statement, the State Department said the funds “are used to support regional terrorist proxies and advance weapons systems that pose a direct threat to U.S. forces and our allies.”
The Trump administration in recent months has cracked down on Iran via sanctions and urged Tehran’s leaders to agree to limitations for its nuclear programs and stop funding terrorist attacks in the region through the IRGC.
Last month, the Treasury sanctioned 18 entities and individuals tied to revenue-generating efforts for Iran, an effort to block Tehran from evading previous economic restrictions implemented by the United States.
And in July, the U.S. struck three Iranian nuclear facilities and pledged to wipe out its capacity or desire to develop weapons.
“Iranian entities rely on shadow banking networks to evade sanctions and move millions through the international financial system,” Treasury Under Secretary John Hurley said in a post to X.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we will continue to disrupt these key financial streams that fund Iran’s weapons programs and malign activities in the Middle East and beyond.”
