The U.S. Treasury doesn’t throw around the phrase “largest sanctions package since 2018” lightly. On July 30, 2025, that’s exactly what it used to describe its action against Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, an Iranian oil shipping magnate whose network the Treasury says has been quietly moving sanctioned crude across the globe while Western regulators looked elsewhere.
More than 50 individuals and entities were designated alongside Shamkhani in that single action, a sweep that also drew coordinated responses from the EU in July 2025 and the UK in August 2025.
Who is Shamkhani, and how does the network work
Shamkhani is the son of the late Iranian security figure Ali Shamkhani, a name well-known in Iranian political circles. The younger Shamkhani built something considerably less visible: a network of shipping firms and front companies that U.S. authorities say manages a significant share of Iran’s crude oil exports to buyers primarily in Asia.
The flagship entities are Milavous Group Ltd and Admiral Shipping, but the structure runs deeper than two brand names.
