ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The US Department of the Treasury on Friday imposed a new set of sanctions on Iran’s “shadow fleet vessels,” accused of transporting hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil assets to fund Tehran’s “regional terrorist proxies, weapons programs and security services,” instead of benefiting its people, amid a brutal crackdown on protesters.

The Treasury said in a statement on Friday that its Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) “is increasing pressure on the [Iranian] regime’s shadow fleet,” amid Iran’s brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters.

“OFAC is targeting nine shadow fleet vessels and their respective owners or management firms that have collectively transported hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil and petroleum products to foreign markets,” read the statement.

The revenue, which the department said “rightfully belongs to the Iranian people,” is being diverted “to fund its [Iran’s] regional terrorist proxies, weapons programs and security services.”

“Tehran’s decision to support terrorists over its own people has caused Iran's currency and living conditions to be in free fall,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. 

He stressed that they will continue to track the tens of millions of dollars that the regime has “stolen and is desperately attempting to wire to banks outside of Iran.” 

Tensions between Iran and the US have intensified in recent weeks, with Washington warning Iran of potential attacks if it continues cracking down on protesters or expands its nuclear and missile programs, and Tehran responding with threats of retaliation.

On Thursday, Trump said that Washington has a “massive fleet” headed toward Iran “just in case,” amid Tehran’s violent crackdown on protesters, adding that “there’s a lot of killing going on.”

Unverified reports by the ship-tracking service MarineTraffic said the US Navy’s nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and its accompanying carrier strike group have been redirected from the South China Sea toward the Middle East in recent weeks. 

Iran has been rocked by nationwide protests since late last year, which have spread to the majority of provinces and increasingly targeted the government. Rights monitors say Iranian security forces have killed more than 4,900 protesters, injured over 7,300, and arrested more than 26,000.

Iran has labeled the protesters as “rioters” and agents of the US and Israel, and has described the demonstrations as a continuation of June’s 12-day war.

In mid-January, the OFAC announced taking action against what it labeled as “the architects of the Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on peaceful demonstrators,” sanctioning “shadow banking networks that allow Iran’s elite to steal and launder revenue generated by the country’s natural resources.”