US sanctions Iranian crude oil smuggling network

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The network, run by an Iraqi and St. Kitts & Nevis businessman based in the United Arab Emirates, secretly blended Iranian oil with Iraqi oil and sold it abroad as if it were Iraqi oil—a tactic that circumvented longstanding restrictions on Iranian crude exports, according to the U.S. Treasury.

The Treasury Department has named the businessman himself, Babylon Navigation DMCC, and a number of related companies and vessels. Several Liberian-flagged vessels, including the Adena, Liliana, and Camilla, have been identified as assets tied to Babylon, which is accused of conducting ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf and operating in Iraqi ports to conceal Iranian oil production.

The agency also blacklisted several Marshall Islands-registered entities including Tryfo Navigation, Keely Shiptrade Limited, Odiar Management, Panarea Marine and Topsail Shipholding, which the Treasury said acted as nominal owners to conceal the network’s operations.

“By targeting Iran’s oil revenue stream, the Treasury Department will further degrade the regime’s ability to conduct attacks against the United States and its allies,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, stressing that Washington remains committed to preventing Iranian crude from entering global markets through sanctions-evasion schemes.

The move comes as nuclear talks remain deadlocked. Negotiations were suspended after a 12-day war in June, and a senior Iranian official said this week that the path to resuming dialogue was still open, but US demands for missile restrictions remained a sticking point.

Iran's mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment.

The move shows Washington is focused on cracking down on increasingly sophisticated efforts to conceal the flow of Iranian crude, even as Tehran relies on ship-to-ship transfers and the use of offshore registries to maintain exports.