The US Treasury Department announced that it had imposed new sanctions on individuals and groups linked to Iran, according to a department press release on Friday.
Those sanctioned include Ali Ansari, an alleged financier to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials.
According to the Treasury, Ansari is responsible for institutionalizing large-scale embezzlement within Iran’s government, including the diversion of public health funds to benefit Iranian elites, as well as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Ansari, based in Dubai, is alleged by the Treasury to have invested regime funds in holdings in the United Arab Emirates, Europe, and other non-sanctioned nations.
In addition, Iranian shadow exchange houses, which use shell companies to move billions of dollars annually on behalf of Iran’s already-sanctioned banks, were also sanctioned, the press release noted.
Three separate exchange houses were targeted by the new sanctions, along with seven individuals involved and two additional front companies based in Hong Kong and the UAE.
The sanctions require any US-based involvement in the aforementioned companies to be reported to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
“The so-called Supreme Leader is hiding in seclusion while his regime crumbles,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “Treasury will continue using every tool at its disposal to isolate him and other regime elites from the global financial system.”
“We will preserve these assets for the Iranian people,” he added.
The sanctions come after the US revoked a general license on Tuesday that allowed the sale of Iranian oil in response to Iran’s “wholly unacceptable” strikes on commercial tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.
The strikes, targeting three vessels, included at least five Iranian drones and missiles, a source told The Jerusalem Post.
Oil prices rose by over 5% following Tuesday’s announcement, with the Treasury noting that a wind-down period would be in effect until July 17 to allow for the completion of active transactions.
Amichai Stein and Reuters contributed to this report.
