The British government, in coordination with the United States and the European Union, sanctioned Hossein Shamkhani, son of Ali Shamkhani—an advisor to regime supreme leader Ali Khamenei and one of the key figures in selling Iranian and Russian oil—along with his affiliated companies.
On Thursday, August 21, the UK government announced in a statement that, under its sanctions and anti-money laundering law, it had added five new entries to its sanctions list against Iran’s regime.
The statement said that the Iranian regime’s reliance on revenue from commercial networks and affiliated organizations enables it to continue its destabilizing activities, including supporting proxy forces and regional partners, as well as facilitating state threats inside the UK.
Bloomberg: Shamkhani’s Son’s Influence in the International Banking System
In addition to Shamkhani, his Dubai-based companies, including Admiral Shipping Group and Milavous Group, were targeted by the new sanctions.
The UK also sanctioned Ocean Leonid Investments, an investment firm based in London, which plays a key role in Hossein Shamkhani’s economic empire.
Additionally, Petrochemical Commercial Company, one of the Iranian regime’s financial arms in the international arena, was added to the sanctions list.
These sanctions come amid growing concerns over increasing threats attributed to the Iranian regime inside the UK.
On August 19, Conservative MP Bob Blackman warned that “agents of Tehran’s ayatollahs” roam the streets of Britain, threatening citizens and targeting opponents of the Iranian regime.
The UK government further stated in its announcement that it will continue to hold Iran accountable, and today’s sanctions are a decisive step in this direction.
According to UK sanctions regulations, all assets and economic resources of the sanctioned individuals and entities must be frozen, and no person or entity is allowed to engage in direct or indirect financial dealings with them.
Sanctions on Shamkhani by the US and the EU
Earlier, on July 30, the United States announced sanctions against Hossein Shamkhani and parts of his “vast shipping empire.”
This package included 50 individuals and entities, along with more than 50 vessels, making it Washington’s largest sanction action against Tehran since 2018.
The US Treasury Department’s statement said that Hossein Shamkhani, leveraging his father’s influence at the highest levels of the Iranian regime and through extensive corruption, built and operated a large fleet of oil tankers and cargo ships.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in this regard that the Shamkhani family’s shipping empire shows how the Iranian regime’s elites exploit their positions to amass vast wealth and finance the regime’s dangerous activities.
Ali Shamkhani himself had already been sanctioned by the US in 2020.
Less than two weeks after the beginning of Donald Trump’s second presidential term, a new round of the “maximum pressure” campaign against the Iranian regime was launched.
In the first 100 days, the Trump administration imposed a total of 17 rounds of sanctions related to the Iranian regime, targeting 40 individuals, 117 companies and entities, and 77 oil tankers.
On July 21, the European Union also sanctioned Hossein Shamkhani and several of his affiliated companies for their key role in Russian oil trade and their involvement in the country’s clandestine oil fleet, known as the “shadow fleet.”
In January 2025, Bloomberg reported that Hossein Shamkhani and several of his associates obtained Dominican Republic citizenship through its investment-for-passport program in order to gain access to the international banking system.