OFAC designates three individuals and nine firms in UAE, Hong Kong and Oman over IRGC oil shipments to China

On May 11, 2026 the U.S. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control announced sanctions on three individuals and nine companies for facilitating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) sale and shipment of Iranian oil to China, part of the administration's 'Economic Fury' maximum-pressure campaign described by officials as the 'financial equivalent' of a bombing campaign against Tehran. According to the Treasury release and Reuters (carried by U.S. News), the targeted entities included Dubai-based Ocean Allianz Shipping LLC and Sharjah-based Atic Energy FZE, which OFAC said facilitated shipments aboard five previously sanctioned shadow-fleet tankers in 2025; Oman-based Zeus Logistics Group, accused of arranging vessels to carry Iranian cargoes; and Hong Kong-based Jiandi HK Ltd and Max Honor International Trade Co Ltd, which OFAC alleged signed agreements with the IRGC to purchase Iranian oil.

Four of the firms were based in the UAE and additional entities in Hong Kong. The action targeted the ship-to-ship transfer mechanism by which sanctioned 'shadow fleet' tankers obscure ownership and offload Iranian crude onto other vessels bound for Chinese 'teapot' refineries. Reuters reported the designations landed days before a planned meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, at which Trump was expected to press Beijing over Iran.

The Jerusalem Post, reporting separately on May 28, described Iran's continued evasion via shadow-fleet ship-to-ship transfers (citing vessels such as the Nora and Lana Luster) but did not enumerate the May 11 designations. The Baker McKenzie trade-law blog (May 7) documented an adjacent strand of the same campaign, including the May 1 designation of Qingdao Haiye Oil Terminal and several Chinese teapot refineries. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's department framed the measures as part of sustained pressure to choke Iranian oil revenue. Claims about specific entities' conduct are OFAC allegations; none had been adjudicated in court at the time of designation.