On Wednesday, 4 November, the United States has imposed fresh sanctions against companies and individuals based in India and Turkey over their alleged involvement in helping Iran evade oil-related restrictions.
The US Treasury Department unveiled the new sanctions a day after Democrats made huge gains in midterm elections, winning control of both houses of Congress as voters expressed anger about the Iran war and its impact on fuelling US inflation.
The sanctions are part of the Trump administration’s “Operation Economic Outcast“, a campaign aimed at severing Iran’s ability to generate revenue from oil sales to fund its military operations.
The sanctions include India-based Suniel Kumar Sharma, his wife Jaspreet Preeti Shahid, two other Indian citizens who run two of the couple’s businesses and nine entities tied to Sharma. According to the US Treasury Department, all of them helped support Iran’s shadow fleet through a network of maritime fraud.
In a statement, the Treasury Department said their schemes supplied false flags and certifications to sanctioned vessels transporting Iranian petroleum, including ships operating for the Iranian military and its proxies.
False flags and forged maritime certifications enable vessels involved in illicit activity to avoid international safety and environmental regulations and to operate without indemnity insurance. Consequently, such vessels could cause billions of dollars in damage to the economies of the countries in whose territorial waters they operate.
According to the Treasury, Sharma and Shahid fraudulently impersonated maritime authorities of several countries, including Guyana, Eswatini and Laos.
By creating websites that falsely offered ship registration, flagging, seafarer training, and vessel classification services. The scheme allegedly dates back to 2014, when the couple attempted to impersonate the maritime flagging authority of Dominica.
In 2023, Sharma established a Singapore-based entity, Eswatini Maritime Affairs and International Ship Registry PTE. Ltd., which continued to provide services to vessels carrying Iranian oil even after being publicly disowned by Eswatini authorities.
In a separate but related action, the Treasury sanctioned Turkey-based Fugo Ground Services Inc. for providing ground handling and logistical support to several U.S.-sanctioned Iranian airlines that continued to fly to Turkey. The airlines named included Iran Air Tour, Saha Airlines, Taban Airlines, and Ata Airlines.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent issued a stark warning to those supporting Tehran, stating that the administration would pursue violators across all domains. “We know where you are, and we will sanction those who continue supporting the Iranian regime, whether by land, sea, or air,” Bessent said in a statement. He added that under Operation Economic Outcast, “you are either with us or against us”.
He further added in an X post, “As we have said many times, under Operation Economic Outcast, you are either with us or against us. We know where you are, and we will sanction those who continue supporting the Iranian regime, whether by land, sea, or air.”
The sanctions were unveiled a day after Democrats made significant gains in the U.S. midterm elections. They won control of both houses of Congress. Voters had expressed anger over the ongoing Iran war and its impact on fueling U.S. inflation. Treasury officials stated last week that their actions were decimating Iran’s economy, driving the Rial to new lows and pushing domestic inflation rates to levels around 90%.
Brett Erickson, managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors, told the news agency Reuters that these new sanctions send a strong message that, despite a poor election outcome, the Trump administration is further intensifying its economic war against Iran.
