The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday sanctioned 22 companies based in Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates and Türkiye for helping to sell Iranian oil on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force. Treasury said the network, which relies on front firms and offshore accounts, is part of Iran’s “shadow banking” system and has moved hundreds of millions of dollars in proceeds that finance Tehran’s weapons programmes and regional proxy groups. The designations block any U.S.-linked assets of the targeted entities and bar American persons from dealing with them. Washington said the action is intended to disrupt revenue streams that the IRGC-QF uses to fund ballistic-missile development and other destabilising activities. Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent pledged to keep “tightening the financial net” around Iran’s oil trade until the regime curbs its nuclear ambitions and support for militant organisations. The move follows a separate round of penalties unveiled on 3 July that hit a network led by Iraqi-British trader Salim Ahmed Said, accused of disguising billions of dollars of Iranian crude as Iraqi, and sanctioned Hezbollah’s Al-Qard Al-Hassan financial arm. Taken together, the latest measures underscore the Trump administration’s broader campaign to cut off funds to Iran and its allies ahead of any renewed nuclear negotiations.