The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Friday imposed sanctions on a major Chinese oil refinery and dozens of ships linked to Iran’s “shadow fleet,” escalating efforts to stifle Tehran’s main source of revenue.
Officials said in a news release that the move targets Hengli Petrochemical, one of Iran’s largest oil buyers, along with a network of shipping lines and tankers responsible for transporting billions of dollars of petroleum products to foreign markets.
The Treasury Department has identified these “shadow fleet” ships as the financial lifeline for Iran’s “unstable regime.”
SECOND TANKER SEIZED NEAR VENEZUELA as US enforces oil blockade
The crackdown is part of Economic Fury, a broader campaign to put pressure on Iran’s economy by limiting its ability to sell oil abroad. According to the US, the regime’s military and destabilizing activities in the Middle East are financed.
“Economic Rage is putting a financial stranglehold on the Iranian regime, hampering its aggression in the Middle East and helping to curb its nuclear ambitions,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
An oil tanker near the terminal on Kharg Island, Iran, as US officials and analysts consider whether the island’s seizure could have a significant impact on Iranian oil exports. (Ali Mohammadi/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co. is a China-based “teapot” refinery, a term used for independent facilities known for sourcing discounted crude oil, including from sanctioned countries.
The refinery, one of China’s largest independent facilities, has been receiving Iranian oil cargoes from sanctioned Shadow Fleet vessels since at least 2023. Hengli has also purchased oil linked to the Iranian armed forces, generating hundreds of millions of dollars for the Iranian military.
Hengli has also received shipments linked to Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars Company, a company identified by U.S. officials as a front for the Iranian armed forces that helps facilitate oil sales abroad.
Operating on behalf of the General Staff of Iran’s Armed Forces, the company uses a network of intermediaries and ships to transport sanctioned crude oil, with proceeds helping finance the country’s military programs and regional proxy groups.
IRAN’S OTHER WEAPONS: HOW TEHRAN CAN STILL BREAK THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ
The Iranian-flagged cargo ship Touska after US forces launched missiles into the control room following violation of the US blockade in the Strait of Hormuz on April 20, 2026. (US Central Command)
The new sanctions also target the network that makes these oil sales possible, a “shadow fleet” of aging tankers and shell companies that transport crude across global markets while evading sanctions and obscuring the origins of the shipments.
These ships avoid detection by transferring cargo from one tanker to another in the open ocean. Treasury officials said 19 ships were targeted in the operation.
A US military helicopter hovers over the sanctioned stateless crude oil tanker M/T Tifani during an interdiction on April 21, 2026. (Ministry of War)
The move is part of the Trump administration’s renewed “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, aimed at cutting off the regime’s main source of income through oil exports and imposing sanctions.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
U.S. officials say oil exports remain the backbone of Iran’s economy, and efforts to curtail those flows are intended to limit the government’s ability to fund its military, support proxy groups and advance its nuclear program.
Treasury officials warned that additional sanctions are likely if the U.S. continues to target the networks, intermediaries and buyers that allow Iran to bring oil to the global market.
