BREAKING NEWS: U.S. Treasury Targets Iraq-Iran Oil Smuggling Empire; Executive Order 13902

 

In a high-stakes move that reads like a cloak-and-dagger thriller, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has cast its spotlight on an audacious oil-smuggling network exploiting the shadows between Iran and Iraq. On September 2, 2025, the Treasury’s formidable Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) unleashed a sweeping set of sanctions targeting a covert operation that funneled hundreds of millions of dollars into the coffers of the Iranian regime—and into the hands of one man: Waleed al‑Samarra’i(U.S. Department of the Treasury).

Al‑Samarra’i, a dual citizen of Iraq and St. Kitts & Nevis, commands a UAE-based empire. Through two shell companies—Babylon Navigation DMCC (managing logistics and shipping) and Galaxy Oil FZ LLC (handling trading)—he orchestrated a shadowy operation: blending Iranian oil with Iraqi crude at sea, then falsely branding it as purely Iraqi to sidestep sanctions(U.S. Department of the Treasury).

The Treasury unveils the mechanics of this subterfuge with chilling specificity: clandestine ship-to-ship transfers in the Arabian Gulf and Iraqi ports, conducted under the cover of darkness. Techniques like AIS spoofing (manipulating vessel tracking data) and deliberate blackouts in location reporting served as tools of deception, all to conceal Iran’s fingerprints on the oil flow(U.S. Department of the Treasury).

To execute this scheme, al‑Samarra’i leveraged a fleet of Liberia-flagged tankers—ADENA, LILIANA, CAMILLA, DELFINA, BIANCA, ROBERTA, ALEXANDRA, BELLAGIO, and PAOLA—registered through a maze of Marshall Islands-based shell companies, including Tryfo Navigation, Keely Shiptrade, Odiar Management, Panarea Marine, and Topsail Shipholding(U.S. Department of the Treasury).

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent framed the action with moral clarity: “Iraq cannot become a safe haven for terrorists... By targeting Iran’s oil revenue stream, Treasury will further degrade the regime’s ability to carry out attacks against the United States and its allies.” And he made clear: this isn’t political theater but strategic pressure—an effort to sever Iran’s illicit lifeline(U.S. Department of the Treasury).

This latest crackdown builds on OFAC’s earlier sanctions from July 3, 2025, targeting another similar smuggling network led by Salim Ahmed Said, reinforcing a sustained campaign to dismantle Iran’s economic tentacles in Iraq(U.S. Department of the Treasury).

Crucially, these actions rest on the authority of Executive Order 13902, aimed squarely at actors involved in Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical sectors(U.S. Department of the Treasury). The sanctions freeze all U.S.-based assets tied to the designated individuals and entities, and prohibit transactions with them—unless an explicit OFAC license is granted. Violations carry the risk of civil or criminal penalties, with ripple effects for any foreign institutions that assist them, potentially triggering secondary sanctions(U.S. Department of the Treasury).

Why such escalation now? Because the stakes are global. By exposing and crippling the networks enriching Iran’s regime—networks that masquerade under the cover of legitimate trade—the United States aims not just to punish but to rewrite the rules of engagement, compelling transparency and eroding illicit revenue streams.

And so, in this unfolding drama of international finance and covert operations, the Treasury has vaulted from the shadows into the spotlight—going beyond mere sanctions to stage a high-stakes confrontation with the murky trade routes that prop up authoritarian power. The mission? To keep oil channels clear of terror, and to ensure that no clandestine vessel anywhere escapes the long arm of U.S. sanctions vigilance.