U.S. Department of State

01/23/2026 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 01/23/2026 10:17

Sanctions on Illicit Petroleum Traders to Support the People of Iran

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Sanctions on Illicit Petroleum Traders to Support the People of Iran

Press Statement

Thomas "Tommy" Pigott, Principal Deputy Spokesperson

January 23, 2026

Today, the United States is taking further action to deny the Iranian regime the resources to oppress its people.

The Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on eight entities and nine vessels in Iran regime's shadow fleet. These entities have shipped hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of Iranian petroleum and petroleum products, including liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), helping finance the regime and its security forces.

As the Iranian people protest the Iranian regime's catastrophic economic mismanagement, the regime continues to fund foreign proxies and missiles over the basic needs of Iranians. Massive inflation, crumbling infrastructure, and water and electricity shortages demonstrate that Iranians are not seeing their wealth put to good use: the Iranian regime refuses to put Iranians first.

This latest action will further restrict Iran's ability to export petroleum and petroleum products through obscure and fraudulent mechanisms, and will further constrain its ability to bankroll the repression of Iranians and international malign behavior.

The United States will continue to implement National Security Presidential Memorandum 2, which directs the imposition of maximum pressure on the Iranian regime to deprive it of revenues that fund its destabilizing activities.

Today's action is being taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13902, which targets Iran's petroleum and petrochemical sectors. It continues the robust sanctions campaign to restrict Iranian oil sales in support of NSPM-2 issued by the President on February 4, 2025. For more information on today's action, please see the Department of the Treasury's press release.

U.S. Department of State published this content on January 23, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on January 23, 2026 at 16:17 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]