The Trump administration has intensified its crackdown on the sprawling business empire of Iranian oil trader Hossein Shamkhani, blacklisting several entities tied to his Wellbred commodity trading group. This move is part of a wider strategy aimed at the complete economic isolation of Iran.

According to a notice released on Monday by the US Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), the new sanctions target Singapore-registered Wellbred Capital Pte. Ltd., the UAE-based Wellbred Trading FZCO, and Switzerland's Wellbred Trading SA. Also named in the action is La Nivernaise de Raffinage SAS, a French edible oil refinery purportedly owned by the Wellbred group.

The Treasury stated that Shamkhani established Wellbred as an overseas enterprise independent of his Iranian operations, yet he retains ultimate responsibility for its conduct. Washington had already imposed sanctions on Shamkhani and other companies within his network. Shamkhani is the son of the late Ali Shamkhani, a senior Iranian security official.

As of press time, the Singapore-based Wellbred entity had not responded to phone calls or emails seeking comment, while the UAE and Swiss entities also did not reply to inquiries outside of business hours.

On the same day, the US announced a fresh round of sanctions against dozens of entities. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent indicated that Washington is zeroing in on what he called Iran's "five critical lifelines," which span digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping. Bessent further warned that a major financial institution with ties to Iran would be sanctioned within the week, though he declined to identify the specific target.