US targets Iran’s “shadow fleet,” missile networks ahead of Geneva talks
Shafaq News- Tehran/ Washington
The United States on Wednesday imposed new sanctions on more than 30 individuals, entities, and vessels tied to Iran’s oil trade and weapons programs.
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the measures target vessels operating within Iran’s so-called “shadow fleet,” which transports petroleum and petrochemical products to foreign markets, as well as procurement networks supplying ballistic missile and advanced conventional weapons production.
OFAC designated 12 vessels and their owners or operators for “transporting hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian petroleum,” including shipments of liquefied petroleum gas, high-sulfur fuel oil, condensate, and grey ammonia to markets in East Asia, South Asia and elsewhere.
Among those identified were tankers operating under flags including Panama, Barbados, Palau, Comoros, Vanuatu, and Iran, as well as shipping companies registered in jurisdictions such as the Marshall Islands, Panama, Liberia, and the British Virgin Islands.
The Treasury said revenues from these shipments “finance Iran’s missile development, drone proliferation, regional proxy groups, and domestic security services.”
The sanctions also targeted companies and individuals in Iran, Turkiye, and the United Arab Emirates accused of supplying precursor chemicals and sensitive machinery to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics (MODAFL).
OFAC designated intermediaries alleged to have facilitated payments for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) engine production linked to Iran-based Oje Parvaz Mado Nafar Company (Mado), previously sanctioned for supporting IRGC drone programs.
In 2025 alone, OFAC sanctioned more than 875 persons, vessels, and aircraft linked to Iran’s energy and weapons networks, the department said.
The measures were announced as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi departed, earlier today, Tehran for Geneva ahead of indirect negotiations with US envoys, including Steve Witkoff. The meeting marks the third round of Oman-mediated talks following earlier sessions in Muscat and Geneva this month.
The renewed sanctions come amid an expanded US military presence in the Gulf and continued warnings from Washington that failure to reach a diplomatic outcome could result in military action.
Read more: Iran–US nuclear talks 2026: Diplomatic breakthrough or imminent military confrontation?
