Treasury sanctions Iranian protest crackdown officials, targets shadow oil network

The designations expand Washington’s economic pressure on Tehran as protests triggered by the collapse of the Iranian rial enter their third week, with Trump administration officials framing the sanctions as solidarity with demonstrators while acknowledging the measures carry limited financial bite.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury Department imposed new sanctions Thursday on Iranian officials accused of ordering violence against demonstrators in nationwide protests that have challenged Iran’s government, while also targeting a shadow banking network the U.S. says has been used to launder revenue from Iranian oil sales.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control designated the secretary of Iran’s Supreme Council for National Security — accused by Treasury of being among the first officials to call for violence against protesters — along with 18 people and companies alleged to have participated in laundering money from Iranian oil exports through networks tied to sanctioned Iranian financial institutions Bank Melli and Shahr Bank.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the U.S. “stands firmly behind the Iranian people in their call for freedom and justice” and that Treasury “will use every tool to target those behind the regime’s tyrannical oppression of human rights.”

The sanctions bar the designated individuals and entities from accessing property or financial assets held in the United States and prohibit U.S. companies and citizens from doing business with them. Treasury acknowledged, however, that the measures are largely symbolic, since many of those designated do not hold funds with U.S. institutions.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial, as Iran’s economy has been squeezed by international sanctions tied in part to its nuclear program. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday the protests began peacefully “and the government engaged with the protesters and with their leaders,” but that after the 10th day of demonstrations, “terrorist elements led from outside” the country appeared and the protests turned violent, he told Fox News.

In February, President Donald Trump reimposed a maximum pressure campaign on Iran aimed at blocking the country’s nuclear weapons development, according to the Associated Press. That campaign included U.S.-led strikes on three critical Iranian enrichment facilities. Trump has since signaled a possible de-escalation, saying the killing of protesters appeared to be ending.

Shadow banking refers to financial activities conducted through institutions that operate like banks but outside the regulatory framework of the traditional banking system.