US sanctions Iran’s ‘shadow fleet’ over alleged protest killings
Shafaq News– Washington
The United States on Friday sanctioned nine oil tankers and eight companies it said are part of Iran’s “shadow fleet,” stepping up pressure on Tehran over the alleged killing of protesters.
In a statement, the US Treasury Department said the vessels and their owners or managers, based in India, Oman, and the UAE, helped export hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil and petroleum products in violation of sanctions.
“Today’s sanctions target a critical component of how Iran generates the funds used to repress its own people,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said, adding Washington would continue tracking revenues Tehran seeks to move through foreign banks.
Today, amidst the Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on peaceful protestors and its complete shutdown of internet access to conceal its abuses against the Iranian people, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control is increasing pressure on the regime’s…
— Treasury Department (@USTreasury) January 23, 2026
Late last year, the Treasury also sanctioned 29 vessels and related firms tied to the shadow fleet, a network of aging, opaque and lightly insured tankers used to evade sanctions, as part of a broader “maximum pressure” campaign to curb Iran’s access to hard currency.
Rights group Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) reported nearly 4,000 deaths and tens of thousands of arrests during protests that erupted across Iran in late December 2025, though independent verification remains difficult due to internet restrictions.
US President Donald Trump had threatened tougher action over the unrest, but protests have since eased and his rhetoric has softened. Iranian officials, meanwhile, have rejected Western accusations, blaming foreign powers for inciting the protests and denying responsibility for the reported toll.
Read more: Washington holds back: Calculated pressure, not war, shapes US policy toward Iran
