# OFAC targets an Iran LPG-smuggling and shadow-banking network across the UAE and China
> Treasury names front companies relabelling Iranian LPG as Omani to move millions of barrels to South and East Asia

**Meta:** type: event · date: 2026-06-18 · heads: 谁的钱, 他们没说的 · 12 takes · 3 lenses · 2 regions

## Summary

On 18 June 2026 the US Treasury's OFAC designated a network responsible for
shipping hundreds of millions of dollars of Iranian liquefied petroleum gas using front
companies in the [UAE](/zh/entity/united-arab-emirates) and [China](/zh/entity/china), foreign bank accounts and
[Iran's shadow fleet](/zh/entity/iran-oil-evasion). Afghan national Sarbaz Abdul Zada and Turkish
national Mohammad Shakol Mihandoust ran UAE front companies that exported millions of
barrels to South and East Asia, often falsely labelled as Omani LPG. It extends a
campaign in which OFAC sanctioned over 1,000 Iran-related persons, vessels and aircraft
since February 2025, including the China-based Hengli teapot refinery. China still buys
roughly 90% of [Iranian](/zh/entity/iran) oil exports.

## By the numbers

- 100s of millions $, value of LPG moved by the designated network (Treasury).
- ~90%, share of Iran's oil exports bought by China.
- 1,000+, Iran-related persons, vessels and aircraft sanctioned since Feb 2025.
- 40, shipping firms and vessels OFAC tied to Iran's fleet in a May 2026 action.

## Why it matters

LPG is a softer-policed cousin of crude; relabelling it as Omani lets Tehran bank hard
currency despite maximum pressure. Naming the UAE and Chinese front-company layer tests
whether third-country financial plumbing, not just tankers, can be squeezed after the
[ceasefire](/zh/n/iran-us-ceasefire-mou).

## What to watch

- Whether UAE and Chinese banks de-risk from the named intermediaries.
- Asian buyers (India, Pakistan) swapping mislabelled cargoes for compliant supply.
- Any sanctions-relief offsetting under [US issues 60-day Iran oil sanctions waiver](/zh/n/iran-oil-sanctions-relief) talks.

## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens)

### unlabelled
- **U.S. Department of the Treasury (OFAC)** (United States, en) — Treasury press release designating a network that used UAE and China front companies, foreign bank accounts and Iran's shadow fleet to ship hundreds of millions of dollars of Iranian LPG, often mislabelled as Omani.
  Source: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0524
- **U.S. Department of the Treasury (OFAC)** (United States, en) — Earlier 2026 designation of the global network fuelling Iran's oil trade and shadow fleet, part of the sustained maximum-pressure campaign Treasury is escalating.
  Source: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0472
- **U.S. Department of State** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2026/02/sanctions-to-combat-illicit-traders-of-iranian-oil-and-the-shadow-fleet
- **Vision Times** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://www.visiontimes.com/2026/05/01/us-treasury-sanctions-major-chinese-oil-refinery-and-40-shipping-firms-tied-to-irans-shadow-fleet.html
- **Windward** (Israel, en) — 
  Source: https://windward.ai/blog/ofac-targets-irans-shadow-fleet-and-weapons-networks/
- **The Hill** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://thehill.com/policy/international/5655443-treasury-sanctions-iran-vessels/
- **U.S. Treasury (sb0476 teapot advisory)** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0476
- **OFAC teapot alert (PDF)** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://ofac.treasury.gov/media/935546/download?inline=
- **U.S. Treasury (sb0341)** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0341
- **U.S. Treasury (sb0405)** (United States, en) — 
  Source: https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0405

### sanctions-intelligence
- **Kharon** (United States, en) — Traces how China's teapot refiners and a shadow fleet of obscured tankers function as Iran's oil 'lifeline,' detailing ship-to-ship transfers, falsified paperwork and the UAE front-company layer that the LPG action also names.
  > "China buys roughly 90% of Iran's oil exports; a shadow fleet keeps the lifeline open."
  Source: https://www.kharon.com/brief/iran-war-oil-china-trade-shadow-fleet-sanctions

### policy analysis
- **Middle East Institute** (United States, en) — Argues Iran, China and Russia increasingly share shadow-fleet infrastructure and evasion tradecraft, so US designations against one network ripple into the others; frames UAE and Asian front companies as the common chokepoint.
  > "Iran, China and Russia now lean on a shared shadow fleet to blunt US sanctions."
  Source: https://mei.edu/policymemo/how-iran-china-and-russia-use-the-shadow-fleet-to-evade-us-sanctions/

## Across the graph
- Related: [[iran-oil-sanctions-relief]], [[iran-us-ceasefire-mou]], [[oil-price-iran-ceasefire]], [[france-shadow-fleet-tanker-seizures-2026]]
- Entities: Iran Oil Evasion, Iran, United Arab Emirates, China, Oil

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Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/zh/n/iran-lpg-shadow-banking-sanctions-2026