US hits Mojtaba Khamenei-linked financier with fresh Iran sanctions

The United States imposed fresh sanctions on Ali Ansari, a financier linked to Iran's new leader Mojtaba Khamenei, along with 13 individuals and entities, aiming to disrupt financial networks supporting Iran's ruling establishment and the IRGC.

In Short

• Banker Ali Ansari targeted for funding IRGC, diverting public wealth abroad
• Sanctions also hit Iran-based exchange houses, foreign front companies
• US aims to cut financial lifelines sustaining Iran's ruling elite

The United States on Friday imposed fresh Iran-related sanctions targeting a key financier linked to Iran's new leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and 13 other individuals and entities, as Washington stepped up efforts to isolate Tehran's ruling establishment following Iran's renewed attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US Treasury Department said the sanctions target Ali Ansari, an Iranian banker and businessman based in Dubai, whom Britain had previously sanctioned for financially supporting Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other entities.

According to the Treasury, Ansari diverted publicly funded wealth into an extensive overseas portfolio of real estate and commercial holdings to enrich himself, government elites and the IRGC. The department said he previously owned and directed the US-sanctioned Ayandeh Bank, which the Iranian government shut down in mid-October 2025.

The Treasury said Ansari used numerous shell companies and bank accounts across multiple jurisdictions to accumulate millions of dollars' worth of assets under Smart Global Limited, a Saint Kitts and Nevis-based holding company established in 2011. The company invested in real estate and commercial properties across Europe, the Gulf and other regions.

"Although held in Ansari's name, many of these financial interests are ultimately held for the financial benefit of Mojtaba Khamenei, his family, and other Iranian elites in the regime and the IRGC who have protected Ansari from facing punishment despite his blatant corruption and the significant damage he has caused to the Iranian economy and people," the Treasury said.

The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also sanctioned three Iran-based exchange houses and foreign front companies that it said moved billions of dollars annually on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks by using layers of shell companies to conceal the Iranian government's illicit financial activities.

OFAC also imposed measures on Iranian nationals associated with the three exchange houses, as well as Hong Kong-based CDM Trading Limited, which it said conducted financial transactions for the exchange houses, and UAE-based Naba Alzaki Raw Materials Trading LLC.

"The United States is taking decisive action to cut off the financial lifelines sustaining Iran's ruling elite," State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said. "By targeting these networks, the United States is directly disrupting the regime's ability to access foreign currency and conduct international financial activity."

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department would "continue using every tool at its disposal" to isolate Mojtaba Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials from the global financial system.

The sanctions came on a day of relative calm after a week of renewed conflict in which three Qatari and Saudi commercial tankers came under Iranian fire, prompting US strikes on Iranian sites and retaliatory Iranian attacks on US military facilities in Gulf states.

US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the ceasefire agreed with Iran had ended, but added that Washington had agreed to continue talks at Tehran's request.

Iran said it was prepared for "all-out defence" if the United States violated the memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreed last month. Iran's top negotiator, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said on Telegram that the war would never end with Tehran's surrender.

Brett Erickson, managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors, said the latest sanctions signalled a major shift in Washington's approach toward Iran.

"Washington is no longer trying to salvage the existing framework. It's preparing to replace it entirely," Erickson said.

The latest sanctions also raise questions over the US-Iran memorandum of understanding. Under Article 9 of the agreement, Washington committed that it "will not impose any new sanctions and will not deploy additional forces in the region."

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