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U.S. sanctions "shadow fleet" used to transport Iranian oil, citing protester deaths

By
Kathryn Watson
Politics Reporter
Kathryn Watson is a politics reporter for CBS News Digital, based in Washington, D.C.
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Kathryn Watson

/ CBS News

Washington — The Trump administration on Friday announced another round of sanctions targeting the Iranian regime over its crackdown on peaceful protesters, this time taking aim at a "shadow fleet" of vessels that transport Iranian oil and petroleum products. 

The Treasury Department announced the Office of Foreign Assets Control is sanctioning nine ships, as well as their owners and management firms. The Trump administration says that hundreds of millions of dollars in oil sales to foreign nations have been diverted to fund regional terrorist proxies and weapons programs.

The U.S. has also sanctioned tankers that have shipped oil from Venezuela, seizing at least seven ships in recent weeks to enforce a "quarantine" on the country's oil. 

The new Iran sanctions are a continuation of the administration's economic pressure on the regime as it cracks down on citizens demanding freedoms.

"The Iranian regime is engaged in a situation of economic self-immolation — a process that has been accelerated by President Trump's maximum pressure campaign," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. "Tehran's decision to support terrorists over its own people has caused Iran's currency and living conditions to be in free fall. Today's sanctions target a critical component of how Iran generates the funds used to repress its own people." 

Last week, the Treasury Department Iranian security officials who it said were responsible for the crackdown. 

Earlier this week, President Trump boasted that he stopped the executions of hundreds of Iranian protesters, a claim Iran has disputed. Thousands are believed dead amid the anti-government protests, although the truth has been difficult to determine given the Iranian regime's crackdown on access to information. 

Richard Escobedo contributed to this report.

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