US imposes sanctions on Indian shipping network carrying Iranian oil

The US Treasury Department has placed an India-based shipping network on its sanctions list, allegedly supporting Iran's oil transportation by circumventing sanctions.

In the statement made by the Ministry, it was stated that within the scope of the "Economic Exclusion" operation against Iran, a criminal network that provided support to the shadow fleet used by the country to circumvent sanctions was targeted.

In the statement, it was claimed that the India-based network, managed by Suniel Kumar Sharma and his wife Jaspreet Preeti Shahid, provided false flags and maritime certificates to ships carrying Iranian oil under sanctions.

It was stated that the fake ship registries and maritime documents created by the network in question allowed sanctioned ships to bypass international restrictions.

In the statement, it was pointed out that ships operating under false flags do not have valid protection and compensation insurance, and warned that this situation could cause billions of dollars of damage to the economies of the countries in question due to incidents that may occur in the territorial waters of the countries where the ships are located.

It was reported that the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), affiliated with the US Department of Treasury, added two individuals connected to the network and several companies based in India to the sanctions list, in addition to Sharma and Shahid.

Bessent warns about sanctions against those who support Iran

In his assessment of the sanctions decision, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that economic pressure on Iran will continue.

Bessent said, "As we have stated many times, you are either for us or against us within the scope of Operation Economic Exclusion. We know where you are, we will impose sanctions on those who continue to support the Iranian regime, whether by land, sea or air." he said.