U.S. sanctions oil trader Wellbred over Iran links
The U.S. Treasury has imposed sanctions on Singapore-based Wellbred Capital and its global subsidiaries for facilitating Iranian oil trade. The move targets a network linked to the late Iranian official Ali Shamkhani, which allegedly generates billions for Tehran.
Why it matters
This action represents a significant escalation in U.S. efforts to dismantle Iran's financial and energy-exporting infrastructure through aggressive secondary sanctions.
The United States imposed sanctions on Singapore -based Wellbred Capital and its trading firms in the United Arab Emirates and Switzerland, citing links with Iran, as it steps up measures to target Tehran’s global financial links.
The company had ties to Iranian oil shipping magnate Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani, the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said on its website on Monday (August 24, 2026).
“Mr. Shamkhani built Wellbred as a company outside the network’s Iranian business, though he is ultimately responsible for Wellbred’s operations,” it added in a statement outlining the measures targeting nearly 60 companies, individuals and ships.
Wellbred did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Also sanctioned were Dubai-based Wellbred Trading FZCO, Wellbred Trading SA in Geneva and its French biofuels refinery La Nivernaise de Raffinage SAS.
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