U.S. escalates economic war on Iran with new sanctions targeting global shipping network

Department of Research, Studies and International News31-07-2025

In its ongoing campaign of economic pressure and geopolitical antagonism, the United States has launched a sweeping new round of sanctions against Iran, in what officials in Washington describe as their most expansive action since 2018. This latest move targets more than 100 Iranian-linked individuals, companies, and maritime vessels, an apparent attempt to disrupt Tehran’s economic resilience and global partnerships, particularly with Russia and China.

The U.S. Treasury Department claims that the new sanctions are aimed at dismantling a “massive shipping empire” allegedly operated by Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the son of Ali Shamkhani, a senior advisor to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. According to U.S. officials, this network facilitates the international movement of oil and petroleum products from both Iran and the Russian Federation to markets around the world.

The move reflects a continued strategy by Washington to strangle Iran’s economy through unilateral coercive measures, despite mounting criticism from the international community that such sanctions amount to collective punishment and destabilize global trade. While American officials frame the move as a crackdown on what they call illicit networks, the broader context suggests a deepening of U.S. hostility toward Tehran and its regional partners.

“These sanctions represent the largest measure taken since the Trump-era ‘maximum pressure’ campaign,” said U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, pointing to the inclusion of 115 targets, including individuals, companies, and cargo vessels. The action encompasses 15 shipping companies, 52 vessels, 12 individuals, and 53 corporate entities operating in 17 countries, from Panama and Italy to Hong Kong.

Washington accuses the Shamkhani family of accumulating “tens of billions of dollars” through their maritime trade operations, while also alleging that they possess foreign passports and property portfolios abroad, enabling them to evade scrutiny. The U.S. statement insists that a web of front companies was used to shield the identities of those involved and mask the origin of their financial activities.

Iran, for its part, responded firmly. A spokesperson for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the sanctions as “a blatant example of America’s enmity toward the Iranian people.” Iranian officials argue that these measures reveal the U.S.’s persistent efforts to hinder Iran’s sovereign right to economic development and technological advancement.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi underscored Iran’s determination not to submit to threats. In a recent social media post, he made clear that Iran would respond forcefully to any further provocation, especially from Washington or Tel Aviv. “Iran, a civilization rooted in over 7,000 years of history, will never be intimidated by threats or coercion,” Araghchi wrote. “Respect is the only language we respond to.”

He went on to refer to recent incidents of American and Israeli aggression, incidents which, he claimed, are still being censored in terms of their full impact on all parties involved. “If any aggression is repeated, our response will be swift, decisive, and impossible to conceal,” Araghchi warned.

Araghchi also dismissed foreign pressure regarding Iran’s peaceful nuclear and technological advancements. “No rational nation would abandon the fruits of massive national investment in life-saving, homegrown technology simply because arrogant outsiders demand it,” he said, further asserting Iran’s right to self-reliance in the face of foreign interference.

Despite the U.S. Treasury’s claim that these new sanctions will complicate Iran’s ability to sell oil, analysts note that Tehran’s key trade partners, most notably China, are unlikely to yield to American dictates. Beijing remains Iran’s largest buyer of crude oil and has consistently rejected U.S. secondary sanctions as illegitimate under international law.

Observers view this latest U.S. maneuver as yet another chapter in Washington’s ongoing campaign to maintain its waning influence in West Asia and beyond. While American policymakers frame such sanctions as tools of diplomacy, many around the world recognize them as instruments of economic warfare used to punish independent nations unwilling to conform to Washington’s agenda.