The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control published a determination under Executive Order 13902 targeting Iran’s automotive and rail sectors on October 1. Iran Khodro and Saipa — manufacturers producing about 1.5 million vehicles a year — were added to the Specially Designated Nationals list alongside the Islamic Republic of Iran Railway Company and Heavy Equipment Production Company (HEPCO), all subject to secondary sanctions. Additional entities and two individuals were designated, and OFAC published an amended Iran-related FAQ to accompany the action.
In parallel, the US designated the A7 Network — a Russia-linked cross-border payments platform founded in late 2024 by sanctioned Moldovan oligarch Ilan Shor — as a transnational criminal organization, freezing its American assets and prohibiting US persons from dealing with it. Washington accuses A7 of helping Iran and affiliated groups bypass Western financial restrictions through a network of front companies; a Financial Times investigation uncovered a document-forgery operation that allegedly channelled more than $6.9 billion through international banks including Citigroup and Standard Chartered.
The designations fit the administration’s “Operation Economic Outcast” pattern: expanded secondary sanctions across aviation, digital assets, gold, shipping and technology sectors, plus the warning that anyone providing value in exchange for “safe passage” through Hormuz violates US sanctions. Iran’s foreign ministry called the measures illegal; Tehran says it remains open to diplomacy while its armed forces prepare for any attack.