ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The US Department of the Treasury on Thursday announced new sanctions targeting a network of companies, shipping containers, and tankers accused of helping Iran’s military through covert oil sales.

The sanctions target a set of foreign entities and individuals accused of working with Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars Company (Sepehr Energy Jahan), the oil sales arm of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff, according to a statement from the Treasury. These include a United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based vessel chartering company, a UAE-based investment firm, a Panama-based shipping firm, and a Greece-based shipping company.

The action also designates a group of other companies from the UAE and India and their executives for providing services to Sepher Energy Jahan.

“Today’s action continues Treasury’s campaign to cut off funding for the Iranian regime’s development of nuclear weapons and support of terrorist proxies,” the statement cited Secretary Scott Bessent as saying. “Disrupting the Iranian regime’s revenue is critical to helping curb its nuclear ambitions.”

US President Donald Trump’s administration has sanctioned over 170 vessels responsible for shipping Iranian petroleum and related products.

Additionally, the US Treasury sanctions also target Mahan Air which it said “has worked closely with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) to arm and supply Iran-backed terrorist groups throughout the Middle East.”

“Mahan Air played a key role in the Iranian regime’s efforts to arm the now-deposed regime of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad,” it added.

Assad was toppled in December 2024 by Syrian rebel groups, spearheaded by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) and led by now President Ahmed al-Sharaa. Iran was a key backer of the Assad regime.

The new sanctions freeze any US-based assets of the designated companies and individuals, banning American institutions from doing business with them. Treasury officials said the move follows similar actions taken earlier this year as part of Washington’s maximum pressure campaign against Iran and its nuclear sector.

During the 12-day war, Israel and the US bombed nuclear facilities in Iran, including the key Natanz and Fordow sites, under the pretext that Tehran had been enriching uranium to build nuclear weapons; a claim Iran has repeatedly rejected.