The U.S. State Department and Treasury launch Operation Economic Outcast against Iran

The U.S. Departments of State and Treasury jointly launched "Operation Economic Outcast," an unprecedented whole-of-government sanctions campaign against Iran. The State Department imposed blocking sanctions on 13 individuals (eight in Iran, three in India, one in Türkiye, and one in Singapore) and 13 entities (three in Iran, four in India, four in Türkiye, and two in Hong Kong) under E.O.s 13846 and 13949 for military procurement and petroleum/petrochemical trading activity. The State Department also imposed blocking sanctions on one vessel flagged in Barbados. The sanctions target seven senior IRGC, Artesh, and MODAFL officials held responsible for directing conventional weapons, missile, and UAV strikes against U.S. forces and partners during Operation Epic Fury, alongside two Iran-based entities that supplied targeting imagery and battle-damage intelligence. The remaining sanctions target form a petroleum/petrochemical trading network of Indian, Turkish, Hong Kong, and Iranian companies and principals who imported or brokered Iranian-origin crude and petrochemical products, including a customs broker and a Hong Kong-based tanker manager. Alongside the State Department, OFAC imposed blocking sanctions on 37 entities (15 in Hong Kong, seven in UAE, five in China, three in Singapore, two in Iran, one in Malaysia, one in Switzerland, one in France, one in the Marshall Islands, and one in the UK), and 15 individuals (six in Iran, four in China, two in Greece, two in UAE, one in Singapore) plus five vessels (two flagged in Gambia, one flagged in Botswana, one flagged in Cameroon, one flagged in Vanuatu)under its Counter-proliferation, Cyber and Counterterrorism sanctions programs (E.O.s 13382, 13694 as amended, 13902, and 13224) for conduct spanning three networks: a Hong Kong/China front-company system procuring dual-use nuclear- and missile-relevant technology for MODAFL's Malek Ashtar University; an Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security-directed cyber group blamed for compromising U.S. critical infrastructure (coordinated with an FBI indictment unsealed August 18); and UAE, Singapore, and Hong Kong-based shipping brokers, bunkering firms, and vessel owners moving Iranian crude oil and LPG to East Asian markets. The Department of the Treasury paired the designations with a sectoral determination under E.O. 13902, extending sanctions exposure to any person operating in Iran's aviation, digital asset, gold, shipping, or technology sectors, and an updated OFAC alert warning that paying "tolls" to the Iran-linked Persian Gulf Strait Authority, Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company, or HormuzSafe for Strait of Hormuz passage carries sanctions risk regardless of payment form. In a related but separate action, OFAC indefinitely suspended five general licenses under the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations, replacing them with General License BB, a wind-down-only authorization through September 8, 2026, while separately issuing General License AA to authorize wind-down transactions involving La Nivernaise de Raffinage SAS through October 23, 2026.