In a significant move aimed at putting pressure on Iran, the United States has imposed sanctions on nine companies based in India and eight Indian individuals involved in the trading of Iranian oil, petroleum products, and petrochemicals. This action is intended to disrupt Iran’s financial resources and its alleged support for terrorist organizations, leading to the freezing of any assets held in the US by those on the sanctions list.
These sanctions are part of the US government’s ongoing “maximum pressure campaign” directed at Iran’s energy export sector.
The US Department of State has targeted nearly 40 individuals, entities, and vessels for their roles in trading Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products, with specific vessels also being blocked as part of the sanctions.
Meanwhile, the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has identified 60 individuals, entities, and vessels involved in facilitating the transport of Iranian oil and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) to international buyers.
Among the entities facing sanctions are nine Indian companies and eight Indian nationals engaged in the trade of Iranian energy products. According to the State Department, these companies, including Mumbai-based CJ Shah & Co, Chemovick, Mody Chem, Paarichem Resources, Indisol Marketing, Haresh Petrochem, Shiv Texchem, and Delhi-based BK Sales Corporation, have imported Iranian petrochemicals valued at hundreds of millions of dollars in violation of existing US sanctions on Iran’s energy sector.
The US has taken action against five individuals associated with these firms, such as Piyush Maganlal Javiya (Chemovick), Niti Unmesh Bhatt (Indisol Marketing), and Kamla, Kunal, and Poonam Kasat (Haresh Petrochem), accusing them of playing significant roles in enabling and overseeing the sanctioned transactions.
Additionally, OFAC has named three Indian nationals, Varun Pula, Iyappan Raja, and Soniya Shrestha, for their alleged connections to vessels involved in transporting Iranian LPG. Shrestha, the owner of Mumbai-based Vega Star Ship Management, is linked to a Comoros-flagged vessel that reportedly shipped Iranian LPG to Pakistan. Pula and Raja are alleged to have controlled companies managing vessels that transported millions of barrels of Iranian LPG to China since January 2025.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has credited the Trump administration with “weakening Iran’s financial resources.” He stated, “The Treasury Department is undermining Iran’s financial resources by dismantling critical components of Iran’s energy export operations,” emphasizing the administration’s efforts to disrupt Iran’s funding of terrorist groups that pose a threat to the US.
This latest announcement adds to the series of sanctions imposed by Washington, which the Trump administration asserts are crucial for national security.
Previously, in July, the Trump administration sanctioned six Indian companies for their alleged involvement in dealing with Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products.
Under these new sanctions, all assets and interests of the designated individuals and entities within the US or controlled by US persons will be frozen. Any company in which these individuals hold a 50% or greater stake will also face restrictions.