Economic Fury Targets Global Network Fueling Iran’s Oil Trade and Shadow Fleet in International Shipping News 27/04/2026 The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned China-based independent teapot refinery Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co., Ltd. (Hengli). China-based independent teapot refineries continue to play a vital role in sustaining Iran’s oil economy, and Hengli is one of Iran’s largest customers for crude oil and other petroleum products, having purchased billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian petroleum. Additionally, OFAC is targeting approximately 40 shipping firms and vessels that operate as part of Iran’s shadow fleet, whose transportation of petroleum and petrochemicals provides a financial lifeline to Iran’s unstable regime. Economic Fury continues to disrupt Iran’s ability to generate the revenue that enables Tehran’s reckless activities throughout the Middle East and its capacity to threaten American interests. “Economic Fury is imposing a financial stranglehold on the Iranian regime, hampering its aggression in the Middle East, and helping to curtail its nuclear ambitions,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “At President Trump’s direction, Treasury will continue to constrict the network of vessels, intermediaries, and buyers Iran relies on to move its oil to global markets. Any person or vessel facilitating these flows—through covert trade and finance—risks exposure to U.S. sanctions.” Today’s action is being taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13902, which targets persons operating in Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors and is in furtherance of the President’s National Security Presidential Memorandum 2 (NSPM-2), which undergirds Treasury’s continued campaign of maximum economic pressure against Iran’s shadow banking, money laundering, and sanctions evasion networks. Since February 2025, OFAC has sanctioned over 1,000 Iran-related persons, vessels, and aircraft as part of this campaign. CHINA-BASED TEAPOT REFINERY FUELS IRAN’S ARMED FORCES China’s independent oil refineries, colloquially known as “teapots,” purchase the majority of Iran’s crude oil, providing a vital source of revenue to the Iranian regime and its armed forces. Hengli Petrochemical (Dalian) Refinery Co., Ltd., China’s second-largest teapot refinery, has emerged as one of Tehran’s most valued customers, purchasing billions of dollars’ worth of its oil products. Since at least 2023, Hengli has received Iranian oil cargoes from a host of sanctioned shadow fleet vessels, including BIG MAG (IMO 9263215), GALE (IMO 9294240), and ARES (IMO 9174397), which alone have delivered over five million barrels of Iranian crude oil. Hengli has played an outsized role in purchasing crude oil from Iran’s armed forces. Since at least 2023, Hengli has received Iranian crude oil shipments overseen by the oil sales arm of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff, Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars Company, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the Iranian military. Treasury has previously targeted four teapot refineries as part of President Trump’s maximum pressure campaign. Shadow Fleet Facilitates Illicit Oil Flows to Support Regime The Iranian shadow fleet serves as the critical link between Iranian oil producers and end users in Asia. Today, OFAC is sanctioning 19 shadow fleet vessels responsible for transporting billions of dollars’ worth of Iranian crude oil, liquified petroleum gas (L