US Sanctions on Hong Kong, UAE, Turkey Target Iran’s Shadow Banking Network

The US on Wednesday issued fresh sanctions on 22 companies based in Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and Turkey “with ties to a network spanning multiple jurisdictions involved in illicit oil trade on behalf of the Iranian regime,” a State Department statement said.

“This network has used foreign front companies to transfer funds that sustain the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) and Tehran’s campaigns of terror, which undermine international peace and security and bolster their ballistic missile programs,” spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

The sanctioned entities include Hong Kong-based companies such as Amito Trading, Shelf Trading, and JTU Energy, which were allegedly used as cover to facilitate transactions for the IRGC-QF.

Other entities such as Pulcular Enerji, a Turkish company, reportedly coordinated with the IRGC-QF to purchase Iranian oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The US has designated Quds as a foreign terrorist organization.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a separate statement that the Iranian regime “relies heavily on its shadow banking system to fund its destabilizing nuclear and ballistic missile weapons programs, rather than for the benefit of the Iranian people.”

For Iran watchers in Washington, such as Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran, a nonprofit that focuses on countering threats posed by the Islamic regime, it is critical to continue to aggressively enforce US sanctions to weaken Tehran’s capacity for aggression.

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“These sanctions deprive Iran’s regime of resources to rebuild and refinance its nuclear and military programs after the US and Israeli military strikes,” Brodsky told Kyiv Post.

Bruce said that the US “will continue to deny Iran access to financial networks and the global banking system as long as Iran continues its destabilizing activities.”

“We will promote accountability for those who seek to undermine international peace and security,” Bruce said.