US Expands ‘Economic Fury’ Campaign with New Sanctions Targeting IRGC Oil Network

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - A new wave of American sanctions struck Iran’s oil and financial networks on Monday, as the United States intensified its sweeping “Economic Fury” campaign against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), accusing a dozen individuals and entities of facilitating Iranian oil sales to China amid escalating regional tensions.

In a statement released on Monday, the US Department of the Treasury announced that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) had designated 12 individuals and entities allegedly involved in enabling the IRGC’s sale and shipment of Iranian oil to the People’s Republic of China.

According to the Treasury, the IRGC has relied on front companies operating in what it described as “permissive economic jurisdictions” to conceal its role in oil sales and channel revenues back to the Iranian regime.

The statement accused Tehran of diverting oil revenues away from domestic economic needs and instead using the funds to support weapons development, finance allied armed groups, and strengthen security institutions accused of suppressing internal dissent.

Treasury vows continued pressure

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would continue targeting Iran’s financial and commercial networks as part of the broader sanctions campaign.

“As Iran’s military desperately tries to regroup, Economic Fury will continue to deprive the regime of funding for its weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions,” Bessent said.

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

The Treasury stated that the sanctions were imposed under Executive Order 13224, the US counterterrorism authority targeting groups and individuals accused of supporting terrorism-related activities.

The IRGC was designated under the order in October 2017 for its support of the IRGC-Qods Force, while the National Iranian Oil Company was sanctioned in October 2020 under the same authority.

‘Economic Fury’ and maximum pressure

The latest measures form part of Washington’s broader “Economic Fury” strategy, a sanctions architecture launched in mid-April 2026 targeting Iranian oil smuggling, shadow banking systems, procurement networks, militia-linked financing, and sanctions-evasion mechanisms.

According to previous US Treasury statements, the campaign seeks to disrupt what Washington describes as the interconnected infrastructure sustaining Iran’s oil revenues, military financing, and regional influence networks.

The Treasury said the United States had already disrupted billions of dollars in projected Iranian oil revenue, frozen nearly half a billion dollars in regime-linked cryptocurrency assets, and targeted shadow banking systems linked to Tehran.

The department also warned that foreign companies and financial institutions facilitating Iranian trade activities could face secondary sanctions, including entities connected to independent Chinese “teapot” oil refineries.

The Treasury further stated that any vessel, company, or individual involved in covert oil trade or sanctions-evasion activities risks exposure to US sanctions.

Focus on IRGC cover companies

According to the Treasury, the IRGC continues to depend on shell and cover companies operating abroad to coordinate oil transactions and receive payments linked to Iranian petroleum sales.

The statement said the latest sanctions build on a July 2025 action targeting Golden Globe Demir Celik Petrol Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, described by US authorities as an important cover company used to arrange IRGC oil sales.

Treasury officials said the individuals targeted in the latest action worked for the IRGC’s Shahid Purja’fari Oil Headquarters and coordinated payments through Golden Globe and related entities.

Washington said the measures were intended to expose and disrupt what it described as IRGC efforts to launder funds outside Iran and finance allied armed groups and regional operations.

'Economic Fury' Meets 'Economic Jihad'

The escalation comes amid a widening economic confrontation between Washington and Tehran, with both sides framing the same sanctions campaign through sharply different narratives.

US officials have portrayed “Economic Fury” as a systematic effort to dismantle Iran’s oil smuggling, procurement, and financial networks through sanctions enforcement and global financial pressure.

Iranian officials, meanwhile, have increasingly framed the sanctions campaign as part of what they describe as an “economic and cultural jihad,” presenting economic resilience and domestic production as a continuation of the country’s long-standing ideological struggle against external pressure.

Previous Iranian statements linked the concept of “economic jihad” to broader calls for societal mobilization, self-reliance, and resistance against sanctions, while US officials continue to characterize the campaign as a targeted effort to restrict funding for Iran’s military, missile, and regional activities.

The latest sanctions underscore the deepening economic confrontation between the two countries, as Washington expands pressure across oil exports, financial systems, and international shipping networks while Tehran continues to frame the measures as part of a broader geopolitical and ideological conflict.