Tag Archives: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps

Politics

U.S. Upends Iranian Shadow Fleet and Oil-for-Gold Terror Financing Network

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Press Statement via Thomas “Tommy” Pigott, Principal Deputy Spokesperson April 15, 2026

The United States is acting to decisively limit Iran’s ability to generate revenue as it attempts to hold the Strait of Hormuz hostage. Today’s sanctions target elements of U.S.-designated Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani’s multi-billion-dollar oil smuggling empire that enriches the Iranian regime and its elites. It also targets a separate oil-for-gold network that finances U.S.-designated Hizballah and the U.S.-designated Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp-Qods Force (IRGC-QF).

The Iranian regime continues to enrich corrupt elites like the Shamkhani family while ordinary Iranians suffer under a deteriorating economy. The regime likewise funnels the wealth of the Iranian people to Hizballah and other terrorists in the Middle East. These designations underscore our commitment to maximum pressure on Iran and its terrorist proxies.

The complex schemes involving illicit Iranian oil, gold, and terrorist financing demonstrate the lengths to which Iran and its partners will go to evade sanctions and fund malign activities. We will continue to expose and disrupt these networks.

Since President Trump issued National Security Presidential Memorandum 2, the United States has sanctioned over 1,000 persons, vessels, and aircraft as part of our campaign against Iranian malign activity. We will not relent in our efforts to deny Iran and its proxies the resources they use to threaten U.S. interests and regional stability.

Today’s action marks the latest round of sanctions targeting Iranian oil sales and support to Iran’s terrorist proxies since the issuance of National Security Presidential Memorandum 2 (NSPM-2), directing maximum pressure on Iran and its regional proxies. More information on today’s designations can be found in Treasury’s Press Release.

Military

US Sanctions To Disrupt Iran’s Weapons Procurement Networks and Shadow Fleet

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Press release via Thomas “Tommy” Pigott, Principal Deputy Spokesperson

February, 2026. The United States is designating individuals and entities involved in multiple weapons procurement networks based in Iran, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates supporting the Iranian regime’s ballistic missile and advanced conventional weapons (ACW) development.  We are also sanctioning numerous shadow fleet vessels and their owners or operators that have collectively transported hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian petroleum, petroleum products, and petrochemical products.           

The Iranian regime continues to mismanage its economy, with catastrophic consequences for its people, and prioritizes funding of foreign proxies and missiles over the basic needs of ordinary Iranians. Today, sanctions target the illicit funds that the regime uses to advance its malign and destabilizing ends.   

This action implements President Trump’s National Security Presidential Memorandum 2 by countering the Iranian regime’s aggressive development of missiles and other asymmetric and conventional weapons capabilities.  It also denies the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps access to assets and resources that sustain its destabilizing activities.  The nonproliferation designations today support the reimposition of United Nations restrictive measures and sanctions on Iran, which occurred as a direct result of the Iranian regime’s “significant non-performance” of its nuclear commitments. 

The United States will continue to use all available means to expose, disrupt, and counter the Iranian regime’s ability to procure revenue to develop its weapons programs and fund its destabilizing behavior. 

The Department of the Treasury’s action was taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their supporters, E.O. 13949, the Iran conventional arms authority, and E.O. 13902, which authorizes sanctions related to key sectors of Iran’s economy. For more information on today’s actions, please see the Department of the Treasury’s Press Release.

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