US Expands Sanctions on Iran Targeting Railways and Shadow Banking

The U.S. Department of the Treasury expanded its economic campaign against Iran on Thursday, targeting the country's rail system, major industrial companies and a Russia-linked shadow banking network that, according to U.S. officials, helped Tehran move oil revenues and other funds to evade international sanctions. The measures are part of Operation Economic Outcast and come on top of a military naval blockade that already restricts Iranian maritime trade.

Among the most significant targets is the state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Railway Company (RAI), along with Raja Passenger Trains Company and the freight operator Sherkat-E Rah Ahan-E Khamle-O-Naghle, as Iran increasingly relied on its rail network to move oil and sustain regional trade amid maritime restrictions. The sanctions also hit Iran Khodro and SAIPA, which together account for more than 90% of Iran's auto market, as well as suppliers in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Indonesia and Hong Kong, and the heavy industry and steel sector, with companies flagged in Germany, China and Hong Kong for supplying Iranian producers or facilitating exports and payments.

In a parallel action, the Treasury stepped up pressure on the A7 network, a Russia-linked financial scheme that, according to Washington, was used by Iran to move money, facilitate oil sales and finance weapons purchases. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network proposed a rule to prohibit certain transfers by A7 sub-agents, while the Office of Foreign Assets Control designated the entire network as a transnational criminal organization; the Treasury estimated that A7-linked companies processed more than $17 billion between January 2025 and June 2026. The U.S. move came after the United Kingdom took action against the same A7 banking network.

According to data from ship tracker Kpler, no tanker loaded in Iran in September, something never recorded since the firm began tracking in 2013, forcing production to be cut to a domestic low of 2.06 million barrels per day and triggering a sharp drop in floating storage. Despite this, Iran is believed to have resorted to “zombie” ships with falsified AIS signals to disguise discharges of sanctioned crude at Chinese ports, while Iranian attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz continued, including a fire caused by an unidentified projectile on Thursday.

In parallel, Washington confirmed the deployment of a third carrier strike group, led by the USS Theodore Roosevelt, to the Central Command area of responsibility, which will relieve the USS George Washington on the Arabian Sea blockade line, together with the amphibious ready group led by the USS Makin Island. The force rotation is scheduled for late November, after the midterm elections, on which President Trump's decisions regarding Iran will depend.