'Starving The Tyrannical Regime In Tehran': Scott Bessent Warns 'No Enabler' Is Safe As Treasury Sanctions 17 Iranian Oil Vessels

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that the U.S. will keep targeting those who help Iran sell its oil, after his department sanctioned 17 vessels that carry Iranian oil and petrochemicals to Asia.

Warns Sanctions Evaders

Bessent said in a post on X that the Treasury is “starving the tyrannical regime in Tehran” of the money it uses to fund war in the region, and will keep exposing those who help the regime sell its oil.

“No enabler of Iranian sanctions evasion is safe from the full force of Treasury’s authorities,” he added.

Treasury is starving the tyrannical regime in Tehran of the money it uses to wage war in the region, and we will continue exposing those who enable the regime’s oil sales. No enabler of Iranian sanctions evasion is safe from the full force of Treasury’s authorities. https://t.co/8JLKuIpsdo

— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) October 8, 2026

Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned the vessels and the companies that own them under Bessent’s Operation Economic Outcast, which targets Iran’s oil revenue.

The department described the move as neutralizing “the vast majority” of Iran’s remaining shadow fleet.

Targeting the Shadow Fleet

According to Treasury, the vessels carried Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals to markets in South and East Asia. One of them, the Tina 5, moved more than 1.5 million barrels of crude in August alone.

In a Fox News interview in late September, Bessent said that once Iran’s remaining oil exports to China end, Tehran will have “nothing left to trade for anything.”

Last week, the Treasury Secretary said Iran had loaded “zero” barrels of oil because of U.S. economic restrictions.

Oil Supply Is Already Tight

The sanctions arrive with global oil stockpiles stretched.

Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser said Monday that inventories have become “scarily thin,” falling from about 10 billion barrels when the U.S.-Iran war began to less than 6 billion, according to Bloomberg.

Even so, oil is moving out of the region again.

Crude leaving the Gulf has returned to about its pre-conflict level of 18.5 million barrels a day, according to Kpler.

However, if the U.S. blockade stays in place, Kpler estimates, Iran’s oil revenue will fall to zero by the end of this year.

At the time of writing, Brent crude oil futures expiring in December were trading 1.34% lower at $102.86 per barrel, while WTI crude futures expiring in November were trading 1.19% down at $90.42 per barrel.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

Image via Shutterstock/ Maxim Elramsisy