U.S. Cracks Down on Iranian Oil Smuggling Network

The United States has once again tightened its grip on Iranian oil exports, imposing sanctions on a network responsible for smuggling Iranian oil under the guise of Iraqi origin. The U.S. Treasury Department announced Thursday that the crackdown also targets a financial institution controlled by Hezbollah, as part of ongoing efforts to curtail Iran's destabilizing activities in the Middle East.

With an elaborate setup in place since 2020, the network led by Iraqi-British national Salim Ahmed Said, has been blending and packaging Iranian oil as Iraqi oil, selling it to Western buyers to skirt existing sanctions. According to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the intention behind these recent measures is to dismantle those revenue streams that provide Iran the financial resources to fund its regional proxies and nuclear program.

These developments follow U.S. military strikes targeting Iranian nuclear facilities, which reportedly degraded Iran's enrichment capacity significantly. Upcoming talks in Oslo between the U.S. and Iranian representatives signal continued international scrutiny on Tehran's nuclear aspirations. The sanctions extend to several ships participating in illicit oil transport, in addition to officials linked to Hezbollah's financial operations.

(With inputs from agencies.)