A bronze seal for the Department of the Treasury is shown at the US Treasury building in Washington, US, Jan. 20, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on nine vessels of what is known as the shadow fleet and eight related firms, the US Treasury Department said, as the Trump administration sought to escalate pressure on Iran over the recent killing of protesters.

The Treasury said the vessels and their respective owners or management firms, which include entities based in India, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates, have collectively transported hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil and petroleum products to foreign markets.

“Today’s sanctions target a critical component of how Iran generates the funds used to repress its own people. As previously outlined, Treasury will continue to track the tens of millions of dollars that the regime has stolen and is desperately attempting to wire to banks outside of Iran,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

TREASURY SAYS REVENUE BELONGS TO IRANIAN PEOPLE

The Treasury said the revenue belongs to the Iranian people, but is instead diverted to fund Iran’s “regional terrorist proxies, weapons programs, and security services, instead of the basic economic services the Iranian people have bravely demanded.”

Iran’s mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The shadow fleet refers to ships that carry oil that is under sanctions. They are typically old, their ownership opaque, and they sail without the top-tier insurance cover needed to meet international standards for oil majors and many ports.

Rights groups say thousands of people, including bystanders, were killed during the unrest in Iran, which they describe as the biggest crackdown since Shi’ite Muslim clerics took power in the 1979 revolution.

President Donald Trump had repeatedly threatened to intervene against Iran over the recent killings of protesters there, but protests dwindled last week. Trump said on Thursday the United States has an “armada” heading toward Iran but hoped he would not have to use it, as he renewed warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear program.

US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers will arrive in the Middle East in the coming days.

Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

Vessels that the US hit with sanctions on Friday include the Sea Bird, Al Diab II and Cesaria, all flagged by Palau and the Comoros-flagged Avon and Chiron 5.