Washington sanctions firms accused of shipping Iranian oil to China

The United States has imposed new sanctions on a network of individuals and companies accused of helping Iran export oil to China, intensifying pressure on Tehran days before a planned meeting between President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The U.S. Treasury Department said on May 11 that three individuals and nine companies — including firms based in Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and Oman — had been targeted for allegedly facilitating shipments of Iranian oil linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Caliber.Az reports via British media.

According to the Treasury, the sanctions focus on entities and individuals accused of helping the IRGC sell and transport Iranian oil to China through a network of front companies and intermediaries.

The move follows separate sanctions announced last week against people and companies accused of assisting Iranian procurement of weapons components used in drones and ballistic missiles.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would continue efforts to cut off funding streams linked to Iran’s military and nuclear activities.

“Treasury will continue to cut the Iranian regime off from the financial networks it uses to carry out terrorist acts and to destabilise the global economy,” Bessent said.

The State Department also announced a reward of up to $15 million for information that could help disrupt the IRGC’s financial operations and affiliated networks.

U.S. officials said the IRGC relied on shell companies to arrange payments and logistics for Iranian oil shipments. The Treasury said the latest measures build on sanctions imposed in July 2025 against Golden Globe, which Washington accuses of handling hundreds of millions of dollars in IRGC-linked oil sales each year.

The three sanctioned individuals were identified as employees of the IRGC’s Shahid Purja’fari oil headquarters, which U.S. authorities say coordinated payments through Golden Globe.

Among the companies targeted were Hong Kong-based Hong Kong Blue Ocean Ltd and Hong Kong Sanmu Ltd, which the Treasury described as cover companies involved in arranging Iranian oil sales and shipments.

The sanctions also targeted UAE-based Ocean Allianz Shipping LLC and Atic Energy FZE, accused of facilitating Iranian oil shipments using sanctioned tankers.

Other entities named included Oman-based Zeus Logistics Group, Hong Kong-based Jiandi HK Ltd and Max Honor International Trade Co Ltd, as well as Dubai-based Blanca Goods Wholesaler LLC and Universal Fortune Trading LLC.

By Aghakazim Guliyev