Tue Sep 16 18:13:58 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a summary and a news article based on the text:

**Summary:**

The U.S. Treasury Department has imposed new sanctions on over a dozen Iranian individuals and companies located in Hong Kong and the UAE. These entities are accused of facilitating illicit financial transfers, including laundering money through overseas front companies and cryptocurrency, to benefit the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian Ministry of Defence. The funds are allegedly derived partly from Iranian oil sales. The sanctions freeze any U.S.-held assets of those targeted and prohibit U.S. citizens and companies from doing business with them. This is part of a broader Trump administration effort to cut off Iranian oil exports and disrupt funding for its military activities.

**News Article:**

**US Sanctions Iranian “Shadow Banking” Network Over Illicit Funding for Military**

**Washington D.C.** – The United States Treasury Department announced a new round of sanctions on Tuesday targeting a network of Iranian individuals and companies accused of illicitly transferring funds to support the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Iranian Ministry of Defence.

According to the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the sanctions affect over a dozen individuals and entities based in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates, who are alleged to have facilitated the movement of funds, including through the use of “shadow banking” practices like overseas front companies and cryptocurrency. The Treasury claims that a portion of these funds originated from the sale of Iranian oil.

“Iranian ‘shadow banking’ networks like these… abuse the international financial system and evade sanctions by laundering money through overseas front companies and cryptocurrency,” the OFAC stated in a press release.

Those sanctioned will have any assets held in the U.S. frozen, and U.S. citizens and companies are prohibited from conducting business with them. Among those targeted are Iranian nationals Alireza Derakhshan and Arash Estaki Alivand, who are accused of facilitating the purchase of $100 million worth of cryptocurrency for the Iranian government.

John K. Hurley, the Treasury’s undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, reiterated the Trump administration’s commitment to disrupting financial flows to Iran’s “weapons programs and malign activities in the Middle East and beyond.”

This move is the latest in a series of escalating sanctions aimed at driving Iranian oil exports to zero, a key policy goal of the Trump administration. In August, the U.S. targeted a global network of companies owned by Greek shipper Antonios Margaritis for allegedly facilitating the transportation and sale of Iranian petroleum.

As of the time of publication, there has been no response from Tehran regarding the new sanctions.

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