US sanctions law firm, shipping operators over Iran trade
The United States on Wednesday sanctioned a law firm, shipping operators and maritime logistics companies accused of helping Iran evade restrictions on its oil and other exports.
The United States on Wednesday sanctioned a law firm, shipping operators and maritime logistics companies accused of helping Iran evade restrictions on its oil and other exports.
The measures extend Washington's pressure beyond ships carrying Iranian cargo to businesses that register them, manage their operations and provide port services.
The US Treasury said four firms were designated under Operation Economic Outcast, a campaign Secretary Scott Bessent launched in August with a pledge to “sever every economic lifeline” sustaining Tehran.
Central to Wednesday's action was Karnakis and Karnakis, a law firm operating in Panama and Greece.
The Treasury said it registered companies used to move hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of Iranian petroleum, petrochemicals and steel while obscuring the ownership of vessels involved in the trade.
Those companies included previously sanctioned Skyros Maritime and Trading, Corfu Maritime and Trading and Elias Shipping and Trading Group.
The Treasury said Elias Shipping had served as a front for Syria's Al-Qatirji Company, which sold Iranian oil benefiting the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force and the Houthis.
The Treasury said Karnakis and Karnakis also helped establish companies associated with sanctioned Iranian energy trader Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh and acted as corporate agent for Roxette Maritime Shipping and Trading, a Panama- and Greece-based ship operator also sanctioned Wednesday.
Seven Panama-flagged cargo ships associated with Roxette were designated as blocked property. The law firm's two owners and three associates were also sanctioned.
The measures also targeted Singapore-based Amigoz Singapore, which the Treasury accused of assisting Iranian crude shipments and servicing vessels linked to Tehran's shadow fleet, and Dubai-based Whales Shipping Line, accused of facilitating Iranian petrochemical shipments.
Two vessels owned by Whales were also blocked.
Also on Wednesday, the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued an administrative subpoena to advance an investigation into a Greek bank over potential ties to Iran, according to a Treasury statement, which did not name the bank.
FINCEN also issued requests for information to six other banks in Europe over relationships with Iranian financial institutions under US sanctions.
Canada's Immigration and Refugee Board has ordered the deportation of an Iranian man living in Toronto over his role in a criminal network that helped Iran evade international sanctions, Global News reported Wednesday, citing a 36-page ruling.
Amin Yousefijam, a former Tehran police lieutenant who has lived in Canada since 2016, helped coordinate shipments of restricted equipment from the United States to Iran through the United Arab Emirates, the board found, according to the report.
The shipments included electronics, motors and other dual-use goods with both civilian and military applications. Global News reported that some of the materials could potentially be used in the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction.
The deportation order was issued in July but only released to Global News this week. The board found that Yousefijam played an essential role in an operation that violated Canadian and US sanctions, although his involvement was more limited than that of his brother, Arash Yousefijam, who led the scheme.
Yousefijam was arrested in Toronto in 2021 and extradited to the United States, where he pleaded guilty to sanctions violations, the report said. After returning to Canada, he legally changed his name to Ameen Cohen.
The immigration board found that he intentionally failed to disclose his US conviction when applying for the name change, rejecting his explanation that he had been advised not to report convictions outside Canada.
The Canada Border Services Agency argued that Yousefijam posed a threat to national security. The board found insufficient evidence that he remained a security threat, however, and instead ordered his deportation on the grounds of membership in a criminal organization.
Global News quoted Yousefijam as saying he remained in Canada and was considering his legal options. He declined to say whether he had appealed the deportation order.
The case comes amid a broader Canadian effort to remove people with ties to the Islamic Republic, although Yousefijam's deportation is separate from proceedings targeting senior Iranian government officials.
According to Canada Border Services Agency figures, authorities had identified 40 senior Iranian officials living in Canada as of October 1. Two had been deported, eight had left voluntarily and two more were awaiting removal.
Trade between Iran and Pakistan remained suspended at two major border crossings on Tuesday, leaving trucks and cargo stranded, with Pakistani authorities citing security and anti-smuggling measures and Iran pointing to technical difficulties.
Commercial traffic through the Gabd-Rimdan and Taftan crossings was halted as of October 20, although passenger movement reportedly continued at Gabd-Rimdan.
Pakistan described the suspension as a temporary measure to strengthen security and combat smuggling, while Iran attributed the disruption to technical issues and precautionary measures.
The two countries remain in contact to resolve the problem, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Tuesday.
The closures come as Iran increasingly relies on land routes to sustain foreign trade following restrictions on maritime shipping during the war.
Before the conflict and the US military blockade of Iran's southern ports, more than 80 percent of the country's foreign trade passed through the southern ports of Rajaei and Khomeini.
The diversion of shipments to road networks has increased transport costs and congestion, although land crossings lack the capacity to replace maritime trade.
Thousands of trucks stranded
Iranian media had already reported queues of approximately 3,000 trucks at Rimdan before the latest suspension, with some drivers waiting between 20 and 30 days to cross.
Limited processing capacity on the Pakistani side and requirements to transfer cargo from Iranian trucks to Pakistani vehicles have contributed to the delays.
An industry circular issued in August also described difficulties unloading Iranian trucks in Pakistan and transferring their cargo.
“I urge all truck drivers not to bring cargo toward the borders. The situation is so bad that since last night and throughout October 20, huge queues of trucks have been turning back. The border is closed and is being cleared. Do not come!” a person affected by the disruption told Iran International.
Another person contacted the broadcaster with a similar warning, urging drivers to avoid sending additional shipments until the crossings reopen.
The latest suspension has increased the risk of prolonged vehicle inactivity and financial losses for transport operators and cargo owners.
Talks continue on reopening
Negotiations with Pakistani authorities to remove obstacles at Rimdan were continuing, border market director Abdolsalim Hoot said on October 18, adding that perishable goods were receiving priority.
An official in Pakistan's Balochistan province also described progress in negotiations and the possibility of reopening the crossings soon.
No timetable for resuming commercial traffic had been announced by Tuesday.
Iran and Pakistan had previously set a target of increasing annual bilateral trade to $10 billion, but border disruptions, banking difficulties and limited freight capacity have complicated efforts to reach that goal.
The suspension also coincides with Washington's efforts to increase economic pressure on the Islamic Republic, including warnings of sanctions against countries and companies maintaining financial and commercial dealings with Iran.
Between 30 and 40 of Iran’s operational aircraft were destroyed during the war, while another 70 to 80 were hit, Iran Air chief executive Taher Abdolhai said on Monday.
Abdolhai said Iran had a little over 300 aircraft in total, but only around 130 to 140 were operational before the latest losses, according to Nournews, a media outlet close to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council.
He said the scale of damage varied. Some aircraft were hit by missiles and suffered holes in their fuselages, while one Iran Air aircraft was “completely pulverized.”
Wartime losses cut into an already limited fleet
The figures suggest the war significantly reduced an aviation fleet that was already constrained by sanctions, aging aircraft and difficulties obtaining spare parts.
Abdolhai’s estimate is higher than some earlier figures given by Iranian officials. The secretary of Iran’s Association of Airlines had previously estimated that about 20 aircraft suffered serious damage.
Mohammadreza Rezaei Kouchi, head of parliament’s Civil Commission, had separately said around 50 aircraft were damaged and 10 destroyed.
It remains unclear how many of the damaged aircraft can be repaired and returned to service.
Sanctions have long constrained Iran’s aviation sector
Iran’s commercial aviation industry has for years faced restrictions on buying aircraft, sourcing parts, carrying out maintenance and receiving services at some foreign airports.
Abdolhai said those restrictions had made it harder for Iran Air to maintain its fleet and had also cut the airline off from some profitable markets.
The wartime losses have added another layer of pressure by shrinking the pool of aircraft available for commercial flights and reducing the industry’s ability to preserve routes and revenue.
Final scale of damage remains unclear
Abdolhai did not give a final estimate for the financial cost of the losses or say how many damaged aircraft were beyond repair.
The differing figures offered by Iranian officials also make the full scale of the damage difficult to establish independently.
Mehrdad Akhlaghi Ketabchi, a sanctioned veteran of Iran's missile industry with ties to the Revolutionary Guards, became defense minister on Sunday, following his predecessor's killing in the war with the United States and Israel.
Akhlaghi secured 237 votes in favor and 15 against in a virtual parliamentary session attended by 277 lawmakers.
He replaces Aziz Nasirzadeh, who was killed on February 28 during the opening day of joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran. The ministry had since been overseen by acting minister Majid Ebn al-Reza.
Unlike several previous defense ministers who rose through military command positions, Akhlaghi built his career inside Iran's weapons manufacturing establishment, overseeing industrial organizations involved in missile production, aerospace technologies and military procurement.
His name has appeared on international sanctions lists since 2007, reflecting his longstanding involvement in institutions central to Iran's ballistic missile program.
From engineering to missile production
Born on September 10, 1958, in Rasht, northern Iran, Akhlaghi studied chemical engineering at Amirkabir University of Technology before earning a master's degree in strategic management from Malek Ashtar University of Technology, an institution affiliated with the Defense Ministry.
He entered Iran's defense industries in the early 1980s and spent more than four decades in technical, industrial and managerial positions, according to Iranian state-linked media.
Much of his career has involved solid-fuel missile propulsion systems and the management of industrial facilities associated with ballistic missile development.
Solid-fuel propulsion allows missiles to remain stored for extended periods and reduces preparation time before launch, making it a significant component of Iran's missile capabilities.
Akhlaghi previously headed the Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group, a subsidiary of the Aerospace Industries Organization involved in Iran's ballistic missile program.
In November 2014, then-Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan appointed him managing director of the Aerospace Industries Organization, replacing Mehdi Farahi.
He later became head of the Defense Industries Organization, which produces conventional weapons and supplies military equipment to Iran's armed forces.
Akhlaghi's role in the Fateh-110 missile project
Akhlaghi's close relationship with Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, a founder of the Revolutionary Guards' missile program, was central to his involvement in developing Iran's missile industry.
Akhlaghi worked closely with Hassan Tehrani Moghaddam, widely known as the father of Iran's ballistic missile program. Tehrani Moghaddam oversaw the development of the Revolutionary Guards' missile arsenal before he was killed in a November 2011 explosion at a military facility near Tehran.
Iran's IRGC-linked Tasnim news agency, citing The Eternal Man, a biography by Masoumeh Sepehri, reported that Akhlaghi approved $10 million in equipment purchases and production facilities for the Fateh-110 missile despite uncertainty over whether the project would succeed.
The account, based on an interview with a senior missile designer, describes Akhlaghi's direct involvement in financing infrastructure used to produce missiles for the Revolutionary Guards.
Pezeshkian also referred to Akhlaghi's association with Tehrani Moghaddam during Sunday's parliamentary session, crediting figures such as the two men with developing Iran's military capabilities.
Nearly two decades under international sanctions
Akhlaghi's involvement in Iran's missile industry brought him under international sanctions long before his appointment to the cabinet.
The United Nations Security Council included him in Resolution 1747, adopted on March 24, 2007, identifying him as head of the Shahid Bagheri Industrial Group.
The group had previously been sanctioned over its involvement in Iran's ballistic missile program.
The US Treasury Department also placed Akhlaghi under sanctions in 2008.
US State Department information about his activities identified him as a senior figure in missile-related industrial operations and described his participation in negotiations to purchase equipment for the missile industry.
In 2020, the first Trump administration sanctioned him in connection with his position as director of the Defense Industries Organization.
The European Union has also included Akhlaghi on its sanctions lists, identifying his senior roles within both the Defense Industries Organization and the Aerospace Industries Organization.
Britain imposed sanctions on him in 2023, citing his involvement in activities connected to the development of systems capable of delivering nuclear weapons.
His name was also included in UN sanctions lists following the reimposition of international sanctions in September 2025.
The measures have made Akhlaghi one of the more extensively sanctioned figures to enter Pezeshkian's cabinet, with restrictions linked to his work in institutions involved in missile development and weapons production.
Missile production and air defenses top priorities
Akhlaghi outlined plans to expand weapons production, strengthen air defenses and rebuild military industrial facilities during his parliamentary confirmation session.
His proposed program includes developing new military technologies, improving production efficiency and increasing cooperation with universities and technology companies.
Akhlaghi also proposed shortening the development cycle for certain new defense technologies to a maximum of six months.
The program envisages increasing the share of production outsourced to companies outside the Defense Ministry to 75 percent in the Iranian year beginning in March 2026 and more than 85 percent the following year.
Highly classified weapons production would remain within facilities controlled by the ministry.
Akhlaghi has also identified continued support for armed groups aligned with the Islamic Republic across the region as a ministry priority.
His agenda builds on programs developed under Nasirzadeh, with adjustments intended to address the damage and military requirements arising from the recent wars.
Akhlaghi portrayed Iran's military capabilities as having frustrated US and Israeli objectives during the latest conflict.
"These capabilities have brought the American-Zionist enemy to the point of desperation in the recent war and placed it in a strategic deadlock," Akhlaghi told lawmakers.
His remarks came as the Defense Ministry faces the task of replacing damaged infrastructure and restoring weapons production capacity following months of military confrontation.
Warning to Washington over possible strikes
Akhlaghi also delivered a warning to the United States on the sidelines of Sunday's parliamentary session.
Asked about the possibility of Washington using the GBU-43 bomb, commonly known as the Mother of All Bombs, against Iran, he said the Defense Ministry had prepared measures to respond.
"The US president should be thinking about how to get his forces out of our region alive. If he drops one bomb, he will have to see how many of his troops he will have to take out of the region horizontally (dead)," Akhlaghi told reporters.
The remarks followed warnings by US officials about the possibility of further military action against Iranian facilities.
President Donald Trump has raised the possibility of striking the underground Pickaxe Mountain complex near Natanz, while US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has warned of severe military consequences if negotiations with Iran fail.
A sanctioned missile official takes charge after the war
Akhlaghi's appointment follows the war with the United States and Israel, which killed senior Iranian military officials and exposed vulnerabilities in the Islamic Republic's military infrastructure and air defenses.
Pezeshkian told lawmakers that the new minister had the backing of the army, the Revolutionary Guards and other military and security institutions.
The president also referred to Akhlaghi's presence on US sanctions lists and expressed hope that he would remain alive to continue his work.
The decision to appoint an official sanctioned for nearly two decades over his involvement in Iran's ballistic missile program points to the leadership's continued reliance on the same military-industrial establishment that oversaw the development of its missile arsenal.
Akhlaghi now faces the task of rebuilding military production capacity and expanding weapons manufacturing at a time when Iran's missile program remains a major source of confrontation with Washington and European governments.
Iran managed to export jet fuel to Myanmar and send several shipments of liquefied petroleum gas out of the region despite a US naval blockade that has largely halted its crude exports, Reuters reported on Friday.
Satellite imagery and analysis by maritime intelligence group SynMax showed a tanker carrying Iranian jet fuel reached Myanmar in September, Reuters said.
Myanmar’s military government did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment on whether it had received the cargo.
The United States imposed targeted sanctions on Myanmar’s jet-fuel sector in 2023, citing military airstrikes on civilians. Myanmar’s military has denied deliberately targeting civilians.
LPG cargoes also passed through
At least eight gas tankers carrying Iranian LPG left the Gulf of Oman since mid-July, according to analysis by United Against Nuclear Iran, which tracks tanker movements using ship and satellite data.
The cargoes totaled an estimated 4.1 million barrels, UANI senior research analyst Jemima Shelley told Reuters.
Four people involved in maritime security and tracking Persian Gulf oil movements told Reuters that Iran had been concealing some cargoes among a growing number of ship-to-ship transfers by other regional producers off Oman.
Some Iranian LPG tankers transferred cargoes near the Omani coastal towns of Shinas and Sohar, while others waited in the Gulf of Oman before continuing their voyages, Shelley said.
Most then sailed toward Malaysia’s Eastern Outer Port Limits for additional ship-to-ship transfers, with China considered the likely ultimate destination, according to UANI’s analysis.
Most Iranian crude exports remain blocked
The shipments remain a fraction of Iran’s previous energy exports and do not appear to represent a broad breakthrough in the blockade.
Shelley said the LPG movements appeared to reflect “more opportunism” than a new Iranian strategy for moving large volumes of oil and petroleum products on smaller ships.
Iranian crude exports fell to zero in September, according to Kpler, marking the first month without a shipment since the analytics firm began tracking Iranian exports in 2013.
Six of the eight LPG tankers identified by UANI, as well as the vessel carrying jet fuel, were under US sanctions for transporting Iranian petroleum or petrochemical products, Reuters said.
US military says blockade remains in force
US Central Command said the blockade remains “ironclad.”
A US military official told Reuters that a ship passing through the area does not necessarily mean it evaded the blockade. US forces assess vessels individually, including by reviewing their documents, and some can be allowed through for humanitarian reasons, the official said.
The official added that being on a US sanctions list does not automatically make a vessel subject to interdiction and that US forces sometimes monitor ships without taking action for operational reasons.
CENTCOM said this week that four commercial vessels had been disabled and 135 ships turned around during the three months since the latest blockade was imposed.
The blockade was first introduced in April, lifted in June following a draft US-Iran understanding and reimposed on July 14 after that arrangement collapsed.
Washington questions shipping data
A US Treasury spokesperson questioned whether tracking data alone could show that vessels had successfully evaded the blockade, noting that ships can spoof locations or operate under false identities.
The spokesperson said such data should be treated cautiously and said Washington’s sanctions campaign and naval blockade were sharply restricting Iran’s access to export revenue.
The Iranian government did not respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
Torbjorn Soltvedt of Verisk Maplecroft told Reuters that worsening economic conditions could push Iran to take greater risks in trying to move petroleum products abroad, particularly jet fuel if domestic aviation restrictions leave Iranian refineries with excess supply.
