The United States has announced a fresh round of sanctions against Iran, expanding restrictions on the country’s oil and cryptocurrency sectors as Washington intensifies economic pressure on Tehran.
According to the US Treasury Department, the latest measures are focused on the petroleum business linked to Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, who is accused of playing a major role in Iran’s oil export network. American officials said the sanctions are intended to further weaken the financial channels supporting the Iranian government.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent disclosed that authorities had also frozen more than 130 million dollars held in digital wallets connected to Iran’s central bank. He said the action targets a financial channel that has become increasingly active since the conflict in the region escalated.
The announcement comes after the United States carried out a fourth consecutive day of military strikes against Iran and reinstated a naval blockade. At the same time, Iran reportedly launched attacks on vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the International Maritime Organization.
Iran began restricting movement through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes, following the US and Israeli military operations launched in February. Washington had previously enforced a blockade on Iranian ports between mid April and mid June.
In a statement, the US Treasury Department said the latest sanctions form part of its broader effort to increase economic pressure on Iran following what it described as renewed destabilising activities in the Strait of Hormuz.
The department alleged that the Shamkhani network continues to play a significant role in facilitating Iran’s oil exports while expanding its operations into international commodities trading. As part of the latest action, sanctions were imposed on more than 50 individuals, companies and vessels accused of helping Iranian authorities generate revenue.
Officials added that the total number of individuals, entities and vessels sanctioned under the Shamkhani network has now exceeded 200.
Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani is the son of Ali Shamkhani, a senior security adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Both men were reported killed on February 28, the opening day of the US and Israeli military campaign that marked the beginning of the current Middle East conflict.
Bessent stated that multiple cryptocurrency wallets connected to Iran’s central bank had been sanctioned, leading to the freezing of assets worth more than 130 million dollars. He added that the United States would continue tracking financial networks used to generate revenue for the Iranian government.
Analysts say digital currencies have increasingly been used to bypass long standing international sanctions imposed on Iran, while also providing businesses and ordinary citizens with an alternative means of carrying out financial transactions after years of isolation from the global banking system.
