In a sweeping move aimed at tightening financial pressure on Iran, the United States has imposed sanctions on several Indian entities and individuals allegedly connected to the purchase and sale of Iranian petroleum products. According to the US administration, revenue from this trade directly contributes to Tehran’s support for regional militant groups and its pursuit of advanced weapons systems that Washington views as an immediate threat.
The Departments of State and Treasury announced coordinated actions against a network of shipping companies, aviation operators, and commercial intermediaries accused of helping Iran circumvent international restrictions on its oil sales. These networks, officials said, funnel critical funds to Iranian activities that destabilize the Middle East and undermine global security.
Among the newly listed individuals in the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control Specially Designated Nationals List are Indian nationals Zair Husain Iqbal Husain Sayed, Zulfikar Hussain Rizvi Sayed, RN Ship Management Private Limited (based in Maharashtra), and TR6 Petro India LLP (based in Pune). The latter is accused of importing more than 8 million dollars’ worth of Iranian-origin bitumen between October 2024 and June 2025, despite long-standing US restrictions.
The State Department is separately designating 17 entities, individuals, and vessels across several countries, including India, Panama, and the Seychelles. Concurrently, the Treasury Department is targeting 41 additional entities, vessels, aircraft, and individuals, intensifying efforts to disrupt Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical export operations.
US officials assert that the financial flows generated from Iranian oil sales are used to fund militant proxies, fuel nuclear escalation, and enable Tehran’s interference in global trade routes. These activities, they warn, threaten not only regional stability but also international economic systems dependent on open and secure waterways.
The administration underscored that it will continue acting under National Security Presidential Memorandum 2, which mandates a maximum-pressure approach aimed at denying Iran access to resources that sustain what Washington labels as “malign activities.”
According to the State Department, “The United States remains committed to disrupting the illicit funding streams that finance all aspects of Iran’s destabilising actions. As long as Iran directs revenue toward attacks, terrorism, and global destabilisation, we will employ every available tool to hold the regime accountable.”
