The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control said Friday that it is placing sanctions on nine Iranian shadow fleet vessels and their owners for allegedly transporting hundreds of millions of dollars worth of oil and petroleum to foreign markets.

The sanctions are part of the Trump administration's response to the Iranian regime's brutal crackdown on protesters and its internet blackout, which has limited the world's ability to witness the abuse. 

The department said the sanctions are also because the revenue from the oil and petroleum should go to Iranians and not the regime's regional terror proxies, weapons programs and security services.

“Today’s sanctions target a critical component of how Iran generates the funds used to repress its own people," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. "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." 

The actions are also part of President Donald Trump's maximum pressure campaign on Iran, and come after the administration placed sanctions against Iranian officials believed to be behind the deadly crackdown on anti-regime protesters in Tehran earlier this month.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.