US Sanctions Tanker Network Moving Iranian Oil

The US Treasury Department has announced new sanctions on a shipping network accused of disguising Iranian oil shipments as Iraqi crude.

According to Washington, the group—run by Iraqi–St. Kitts & Nevis businessman Waleed Khaled Hameed al-Samarra’i and operating out of the UAE—blended Iranian oil with Iraqi barrels before selling it as purely Iraqi. The scheme is believed to have generated roughly $300 million annually for Iran and its affiliates.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) blacklisted nine tankers in total: one suezmax, four LR1s, and four handysize vessels. Among them are the LR1s Adena and Camilla (built in 2003) and the suezmax Liliana (built in 2005). All were flagged in Liberia and linked to shell companies registered in the Marshall Islands. These ships reportedly conducted ship-to-ship transfers in the Arabian Gulf and at Iraqi ports to conceal the origins of their cargo.

Sanctions also targeted UAE-based Babylon Navigation and Galaxy Oil, which handled logistics and sales for the network, as well as Marshall Islands entities that acted as registered owners of the vessels.

“By targeting Iran’s oil revenue stream, Treasury will further degrade the regime’s ability to carry out attacks against the United States and its allies,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.

This move follows a similar round of sanctions in July against another group accused of blending Iranian and Iraqi oil for export. It comes as US–Iran nuclear negotiations remain at a standstill, with Washington continuing to pressure Tehran’s energy sector.