US sanctions 17 ships in push to shut down Iran’s shadow fleet
The US Treasury sanctioned 17 vessels and their owners Thursday under Operation Economic Outcast, saying the action effectively neutralizes most of Iran’s remaining shadow fleet.
The US Treasury sanctioned 17 vessels and their owners Thursday under Operation Economic Outcast, saying the action effectively neutralizes most of Iran’s remaining shadow fleet.
In a statement, Treasury said the ships had carried millions of barrels of Iranian crude, petroleum products and petrochemicals to markets in South and East Asia. The network spanned more than a dozen jurisdictions and relied on international front companies.
Thursday’s broader Iran-related sanctions targeted six individuals, 27 entities and 22 vessels in total, including the 17 ships highlighted by Treasury. The additional targets included five Indian nationals and a Turkish national, along with companies including India’s Samudra Marine Services and SSPL Solutions and the UAE’s Hessonite Ship Management.
“Treasury is starving the tyrannical regime in Tehran of the money it uses to wage war in the region, and we will continue exposing those who enable the regime’s oil sales,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “No enabler of Iranian sanctions evasion is safe from the full force of Treasury’s authorities.”
Among the targets were the Cameroon-flagged Shenzhen, which Treasury said had transported more than 3.5 million barrels of Iranian crude since November 2025, and the Vanuatu-flagged Tina 5, which carried more than 1.5 million barrels in August. Designated companies include firms in China, Hong Kong, the Marshall Islands and the British Virgin Islands.
Treasury said vessels regularly enter and leave the network, and pledged to continue monitoring attempts to evade sanctions.
Thursday’s measures, issued under Executive Order 13902, freeze the targets’ assets under US jurisdiction and generally prohibit US persons from dealing with them. Foreign financial institutions risk secondary sanctions for knowingly facilitating significant transactions for designated parties.
Treasury also removed the Hakuna Matata and Pinocchio from its sanctions list after they left Iran’s shadow fleet and were sold to non-sanctioned, US-aligned operators. Both vessels had been listed in June 2025.
Launched on August 24 and dubbed Economic D-Day, Operation Economic Outcast seeks to isolate Iran’s revenue and financial networks by increasing pressure on foreign companies and governments that sustain trade with Tehran.
The campaign expanded sanctions exposure across digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping, threatening foreign businesses with exclusion from the US financial system. The broader authorities do not automatically sanction every foreign business in those sectors, but allow Washington to designate additional targets.
On October 1, Washington widened the campaign to Iran’s automotive and rail industries, sanctioning major manufacturers including Iran Khodro and SAIPA.
Treasury said the US military blockade, dwindling oil shipments outside it and widening sanctions were leaving Tehran with fewer options to stabilize its economy.
Iran’s central bank governor, Abdolnaser Hemmati, said Tuesday that the economy was still functioning and rejected what he described as US predictions of collapse.
Messages sent to Iran International by employees at companies spanning the automotive, energy, pharmaceutical and aviation industries describe wages arriving weeks or months late, with some workers saying they have taken second jobs to cover everyday expenses.
Several employees said their salaries were being paid in installments rather than on schedule. Others described losing workplace benefits or being told to resign if they objected to payment delays.
Delayed wages and disappearing benefits
Two workers at Megamotor, a subsidiary of automaker Saipa, criticized the company's wage and benefit payments in messages to Iran International.
Salary payments became irregular after the 40-day war, one worker said.
“We are suffering greatly and do not know how we can provide for our families.”
Another Megamotor employee said some wages and benefits, including overtime and meal allowances, were no longer being paid to workers, while managers and supervisors continued to receive overtime and other benefits.
Low pay at Saipa Yadak has forced most employees to work for the Snapp ride-hailing service from the afternoon until late at night, an employee of the auto-parts company said.
Some of the company's resources are spent on government ceremonies or large payments to senior managers, the employee added.
Workers at Bahman Motor are also facing financial and psychological pressure, an employee of the automaker said.
The company has declined to make payments to employees even as it continues constructing new industrial buildings, according to the employee.
The accounts come as Iran's economic problems have deepened in recent months alongside the Islamic Republic's regional policies, tighter sanctions and a sharp decline in the value of the national currency.
Rapid inflation and declining purchasing power have increased pressure on household budgets and made basic goods harder to afford for a broad section of the population.
Iran International reported in August that workers at mines and companies had gone months without receiving wages.
Workers say complaints put jobs at risk
Employees at other companies described wages being divided into installments and said challenging the delays could put their jobs at risk.
Salaries at Imen Tak Pishro in Jajrud are paid in installments and employees who object are warned they could be dismissed, one worker told.
Another employee previously told Iran International that their employer paid three months of overdue salaries in two installments.
Mapna has not paid workers at 25 power plants for 40 days, an employee of the company said.
At pharmaceutical company Arya Tinagen, salaries remained unpaid 11 days into the month, an employee said.
“The company has cut all employee benefits, from meals to the monthly benefit card. If we complain, they tell us to resign and leave.”
Messages in recent days have also described overdue wages, unpaid insurance contributions and warnings of dismissal across a range of workplaces.
An employee at Yasuj University of Medical Sciences said at the time that staff had gone three months without salaries and were warned they could lose their jobs if they pursued their demands.
Second jobs and unemployment fears
For some workers, irregular wages and rising living costs have made additional employment a necessity. For others, the concern is whether their main job will survive at all.
An employee at Ata Airlines said inflation, the rising exchange rate and aviation sanctions had led the carrier to cut jobs.
The airline had previously borrowed billions of tomans in an effort to avoid dismissing employees, according to the worker.
Employees at Kish Air said they had been instructed not to report for work until further notice and had not received a year's worth of performance-related payments.
Concerns extend beyond individual companies.
Large numbers of factories at the Shamsabad industrial estate have shut down, one person familiar with employment conditions there told Iran International.
The person said they had filled out around 50 job applications for factories in the industrial estate without receiving an offer.
The accounts follow broader signs of concern about employment. In an Iran International survey published in August, 92% of respondents said they had witnessed unemployment among people around them.
The dollar traded at 2.723 million rials on the open market earlier on October 4, up 1.3% from the previous day.
The euro climbed above 3.06 million rials and the British pound surpassed 3.59 million rials.
US pressure targets oil revenue
Washington has sought in recent weeks to restrict the Iranian government's financial lifelines through a naval blockade, efforts to prevent Iranian oil exports and measures targeting channels used to move oil revenue.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on October 3 that Iran would have no oil cargoes on the water this week and would earn no revenue from such shipments, describing it as a first.
Bessent described the US military campaign, naval blockade and economic isolation of the Islamic Republic as interconnected elements of Washington’s strategy.
Iranian parliament deputy speaker Ali Nikzad had earlier said the United States would “never” be able to reduce Iran’s oil exports to zero.
Government moves to curb currency slide
Iranian authorities are seeking ways to contain the currency’s decline and inflation as economic pressure increases.
Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, reported on Sunday that five Iranian banks were selling up to $10,000 to each person over 18 at a rate of 2.57 million rials per dollar on the second day of an official foreign currency program.
The banks participating in the program are Mellat, Tejarat, Melli, Saderat and Saman, according to Tasnim.
Lawmaker Mehdi Kouchakzadeh criticized the central bank program during an online parliamentary session on Sunday, questioning why it had been introduced at what he described as a time of severe foreign currency shortages.
“Other than their friends, dealers and thieves, who can afford to buy this $10,000?” Kouchakzadeh said. “This is money for butterfly skin patients and struggling people that is going into the pockets of capitalists and thieves.”
Kouchakzadeh called the policy a “crime” and urged parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to prevent its implementation.
The physical management of foreign currency was of “fundamental importance,” Ghalibaf said in response, promising to pursue the issue.
Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei attended a meeting of the government’s economic coordination headquarters on October 3 and said the country was going through one of its most difficult periods.
Despite the deepening economic crisis and growing pressure on citizens, the Islamic Republic continues to pursue policies that have fueled confrontation, particularly its standoff with the United States and its nuclear program.
