US imposes fresh Iran-related sanctions, citing Iraqi evasion network

The measures include restrictions on nine tankers linked to the operation.

On 2 September, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced sanctions against shipping companies and vessels tied to Iraqi-Kittitian businessman Waleed al-Samarra’i. According to OFAC, his network smuggled Iranian oil disguised as Iraqi-origin crude by blending the two and marketing the shipments as exclusively Iraqi to evade sanctions.

“Iraq cannot become a safe haven for terrorists, which is why the United States is working to counter Iran’s influence in the country,” said US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “By targeting Iran’s oil revenue stream, the Treasury will further degrade the regime’s ability to carry out attacks against the United States and its allies,” he added.

This marks the second such action in recent months. In early July, OFAC sanctioned the network of Iraqi businessman Salim Ahmed Said, which was also accused of blending Iraqi and Iranian oil to generate significant revenue for Tehran.

The network’s operations

OFAC estimates that al-Samarra’i’s network generates around US$300M annually for Iran and its partners. The businessman reportedly relies on two UAE-based companies, Babylon Navigation DMCC and Galaxy Oil FZ LLC, to oversee operations. Babylon manages shipping and logistics, while Galaxy Oil serves as the main trader of the network’s energy products on the global market.

The network employs a fleet of tankers operated by Babylon, including Adena, Liliana, Camilla, Delfina, Bianca, Roberta, Alexandra, Bellagio, and Paola. These vessels blend Iranian and Iraqi oil during ship-to-ship transfers in the Arabian Gulf and at Iraqi ports, the Treasury noted.

To obscure their activities, the vessels reportedly conduct transfers with US-sanctioned ships tied to Iran’s shadow fleet, allowing the network to maintain a degree of separation from the Iranian petroleum sector.

According to OFAC, al-Samarra’i’s tankers employed further evasion methods, such as unsafe night-time ship-to-ship transfers, Automated Identification System (AIS) spoofing, and conspicuous gaps in AIS location reporting.