The ships don’t sail under Iranian flags, but they carry its oil. And now, the United States is going after them.
On Thursday, the U.S. Treasury Department unveiled new sanctions aimed at what it called Iran’s “shadow fleet” — a web of vessels operating in disguise, helping Tehran move oil in defiance of global restrictions. At the center of it is Jugwinder Singh Brar, a UAE-based Indian national who controls nearly 30 ships through companies registered in the United Arab Emirates and India.
According to the Treasury, these ships have been conducting high-risk transfers at sea, shifting Iranian petroleum in the waters off Iraq, Iran, the UAE, and the Gulf of Oman. The department says Brar’s fleet has directly supported Iran’s national oil company and its military.
“The Iranian regime relies on its network of unscrupulous shippers and brokers like Brar and his companies,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, “to enable its oil sales and finance its destabilizing activities.”
The four newly sanctioned companies are accused of owning and operating the vessels, with U.S. officials warning that these kinds of operations allow Iran to quietly sidestep sanctions and sustain its revenue streams.
This move comes as part of a broader American effort to apply pressure on Iran’s oil exports, especially as diplomacy over its nuclear programme shows little sign of progress.
Washington insists the pressure will continue, especially on actors who profit from the trade.
“The United States remains focused on disrupting all elements of Iran’s oil exports,” Bessent said, “particularly those who seek to profit from this trade.”
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A TV channel was struck during a live broadcast on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, as Russian strikes on Kyiv killed at least three people, the city's Mayor Vitali Klitschko said. Meanwhile, drones hit civilian infrastructure in Russia's southwestern Saratov region.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said its forces destroyed five Iranian crude oil carriers after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) allegedly launched two ballistic missile attacks against a U.S. Navy warship over the past two days.
U.S. special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff have held talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Sunday on efforts to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
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Foreign direct investment in Georgia fell sharply in the second quarter of 2026, while China surged to become the country’s largest investor, highlighting Tbilisi’s deepening economic ties with Beijing as relations with the West remain strained.
North Korea has built a new uranium enrichment facility at its Yongbyon nuclear complex in the northwest of the country and begun operating an expanded site at Kangson, near the capital Pyongyang, the United Nation’s nuclear watchdog has said.
Israel has ordered the closure of the British consulate in East Jerusalem and banned 12 British nationals from entering the country, escalating a diplomatic row with London over Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 9th of September, covering the latest developments.
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