US Treasury Sanctions Global Network Smuggling Hundreds of Millions in Iranian Gas

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - The United States Treasury Department has struck at one of the most sophisticated sanctions evasion architectures yet uncovered, designating a sprawling international network responsible for shipping hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of Iranian liquid petroleum gas (LPG) to buyers across South and East Asia, deliberately mislabeled as Omani in origin to conceal its Iranian identity.

The action, announced on Friday, was carried out by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) under the banner of "Economic Fury," Washington's escalating maximum pressure campaign against Tehran. It marks one of the most expansive single-day enforcement actions targeting Iran's energy and financial sectors in recent months.

At the center of the scheme was a coordinated effort to launder the origin of Iranian LPG through layers of commercial deception. According to OFAC, the network employed front companies registered in the United Arab Emirates and China, overseas bank accounts, and Iran's so-called shadow fleet — a constellation of vessels operating outside conventional maritime tracking — to move millions of barrels of Iranian gas while stripping away any trace of its true provenance.

The mechanism was straightforward in its audacity: Iranian LPG, subject to sweeping US sanctions, was rebranded as a product of Oman — a Gulf state not under equivalent restrictions — and sold onward to end users in Asia who may or may not have been aware of its actual origin. The profit flowed back through a chain of intermediaries designed to insulate the Iranian regime from direct detection.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent framed the action in unambiguous terms. "Iran's economy is floundering and its military is decimated," he said in a statement accompanying the designations.

"Through Economic Fury, Treasury will continue to sever Iran's shadow fleet, shadow banking networks, and access to global trade."

The statement was notable not only for its directness but for its strategic framing. By pairing references to Iran's economy and its military in the same breath, Bessent signaled that Washington views financial pressure and security objectives as inseparable — that choking off revenue is not merely an economic instrument but a tool of deterrence.

Alongside the LPG network, OFAC separately designated the Iranian exchange house Mehrdad Geramian Nik and Partners Company and its leadership, who are accused of moving hundreds of millions of dollars in foreign currency on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks.

The designation sheds light on a largely opaque corner of Iran's financial architecture. Tehran relies heavily on a class of brokers known as rahbar companies — intermediaries that use shell and front companies abroad to route funds on behalf of Iranian bank customers, effectively bypassing the formal banking system and the sanctions regime built around it.

Collectively, Iranian exchange houses are estimated to facilitate billions of dollars in foreign currency transactions annually, providing the regime and its armed forces with access to revenues derived from oil and petrochemical sales.

OFAC noted that it has moved repeatedly in recent months to dismantle this network, having previously sanctioned Radin Exchange, Arz Iran Exchange, Opal Exchange, and Amin Exchange. Friday's action, it said, further restricts the regime's ability to generate, move, and repatriate funds — money that Washington says has been used to develop weapons, support proxy forces, and enrich regime insiders at the expense of ordinary Iranians.