On 23 January 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions on nine vessels and associated shipping entities. These sanctions were on the grounds of being linked to the transportation of Iranian oil and petroleum products. The action forms part of OFAC’s ongoing enforcement programme targeting sanctions-evasion risks in energy and maritime trade.

OFAC reported that the sanctioned vessels had previously carried Iranian-origin energy cargoes and were involved in trading patterns associated with higher compliance risk.

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said, “The Iranian regime is engaged in a ritual of economic self-immolation—a process that has been accelerated by President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign. Tehran’s decision to support terrorists over its own people has caused Iran’s currency and living conditions to be in free fall… Today’s sanctions target a critical component of how Iran generates the funds used to repress its own people. As previously outlined, Treasury 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.”

This action was taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13902, which targets Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors. It continues the sanctions campaign targeting Iranian oil sales in support of the President’s National Security Presidential Memorandum 2 (NSPM-2), instituting maximum economic pressure on Iran.
Source: Baltic Exchange