meta_id 3166171

On May 19, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated more than 50 companies, individuals, and vessels as part of Economic Fury, an initiative targeting Iran's financial networks and revenue generation. OFAC designated Amin Exchange, a prominent Iranian foreign currency exchange house, along with eight associated front companies operating across the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye, and Hong Kong. The exchange house and its network facilitate hundreds of millions of dollars in transactions annually for sanctioned Iranian banks, petrochemical exporters, and the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), enabling the Iranian regime to evade sanctions and access the international financial system. OFAC also blocked 19 vessels involved in transporting Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products to foreign customers, generating hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the regime. The designated vessels include liquified petroleum gas tankers, crude oil tankers, and chemical tankers flagged under various jurisdictions including Panama, Palau, and Marshall Islands, with ownership structures based in Hong Kong, Liberia, and other offshore locations. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the designations target "Iran's shadow banking system [which] facilitates the illicit transfer of funding for terrorist purposes." The designations are made pursuant to Executive Order 13902, which targets persons operating in Iran's financial, petroleum, and petrochemical sectors. All property and interests in property of designated persons within U.S. jurisdiction or controlled by U.S. persons are blocked. U.S. persons are prohibited from engaging in transactions involving designated entities unless authorized by OFAC. The U.S. Department of State's Rewards for Justice program is offering up to $15 million for information disrupting the financial mechanisms of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).