US imposes fresh sanctions on Iran's shadow fleet

The ​Trump administration imposed fresh sanctions on Iran on Thursday targeting individuals, networks and 17 vessels ‌for transporting its crude, oil products and petrochemicals, in the latest act of US economic warfare on Tehran, the Treasury Department said.

The sanctions ‌are part of the department's "Operation Economic Outcast," which aims to ‌cut Tehran's funding for the war, missile construction, cyberattacks and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or IRGC. "Today's action represents the most significant blow yet to Iran's ⁠remaining illicit ​maritime infrastructure ⁠by neutralizing the vast majority of the shadow fleet," a Treasury official told reporters ⁠in a call. "Treasury is cutting off the regime's last major source of ​illicit revenue and strengthening international pressure to hold Tehran accountable."

The ⁠move boosts pressure on Iranian oil sales after the US re-imposed its blockade ⁠of ​Iranian ports on July 14 following the breakdown of a memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington. Iran only has about ⁠20 million barrels of crude oil left on vessels outside of the ⁠blockade, a ⁠Treasury official said. The world uses about 100 million barrels of oil per day.