Largest strike since 2018: US hit Iranian fleet with record-breaking attack
Photo: Donald Trump, President of the United States (Getty Images)
The US has announced its most extensive sanctions against Iran since 2018. The restrictions target more than 50 individuals, companies, and vessels linked to the son of a senior Iranian official, according to the website of the US Department of the Treasury.
On Wednesday, July 30, the US imposed large-scale sanctions against Iran, targeting over 50 individuals, companies, and more than 50 vessels.
The sanctions concern a commercial fleet allegedly owned by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani, one of the closest advisers to Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Washington accuses Iranian elites of illicit oil trade and financing the regime.
Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani’s network reportedly includes a massive fleet of ships, shipping management firms, and front companies, some posing as legitimate financial service providers, that launder billions in profits from global sales of Iranian and Russian crude oil and other petroleum products, often to buyers in China.
The US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has described these sanctions as the "largest since 2018."
US targets Iranian officials' oil profits
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that "The Shamkhani family’s shipping empire" exemplifies how senior Iranian officials enrich themselves at the nation’s expense.
The official statement noted that the largest sanctions package against Iran since 2018 was aimed at a corrupt, regime-linked shipping empire accused of funneling billions of dollars to Tehran.
According to Bessent, more than 115 new designations mark the most serious action since the launch of the maximum pressure campaign against Iran, initiated during Donald Trump’s first term.Many of the sanctioned companies have ties to the United Arab Emirates, and Mohammad Shamkhani reportedly operates between the UAE and Iran. The US Treasury says this network transports a significant portion of Iranian oil, with Chinese firms remaining the main buyers. The profits reach billions annually.
In 2020, Ali Shamkhani himself was sanctioned, then serving as secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. In June 2025, Shamkhani was injured during a 12-day Israeli military operation against Iran. He was later seen walking with a cane at funerals for senior officials and scientists killed in the strikes.
Additionally, the US State Department announced separate sanctions against 20 more companies and 10 vessels that facilitated the transport of Iranian oil and petroleum products.
Despite the scope of the action, US Deputy Treasury Secretary Michael Faulkender assured that the new sanctions pose no threat to the global oil market, calling them a targeted strike specifically against illicit Iranian oil trade.
The Kremlin has recently boasted of its "immunity to sanctions" in response to Donald Trump’s warnings.
Trump earlier cautioned that Russia could face not only secondary tariffs on exports to the US but also secondary sanctions.
