Operation Economic Outcast Targets Iran’s Remaining Industrial Lifelines
Actions Target Iran’s Automotive, Rail, Manufacturing, and Steel Networks
WASHINGTON—Today, as part of Operation Economic Outcast, the U.S. Department of the Treasury is targeting some of the last significant elements of Iran’s failing industrial infrastructure, including its rail and automotive conglomerates. Much like the petroleum sector, Iran’s automotive and rail industries have been coopted by the regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), whose corruption and self‑serving interests have pushed Iran’s economy to the brink.
"The Iranian regime's ability to fund its war machine and inflict terror on the world has been severely diminished thanks to Operation Economic Outcast,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent. “Today’s action directly targets Iran’s enablers and lays the groundwork for the United States and our partners to drain the regime’s revenue once and for all.”
As the U.S. military’s maritime blockade takes hold and Iran’s oil revenues fall to zero, the regime has grown increasingly dependent on these remaining industries to maintain a veneer of economic solvency. Because the rail and automotive sectors represent some of the regime’s largest remaining sources of revenue and logistical capacity, today’s action strikes directly at the critical arteries Iran relies on to sustain its economy and evade sanctions.
The automotive sector, in particular, is deeply intertwined with IRGC patronage networks, enabling corruption, trade‑based money laundering, and even the exploitation of prison labor, making the dismantling of these channels vital to cutting off IRGC financing. By reaching not only Iranian firms but also the foreign suppliers and facilitators that nourish them, today’s designations sever the international procurement networks the regime depends on to preserve its industrial base and circumvent U.S. pressure.
As part of today’s action, OFAC is issuing two additional sectoral sanctions determinations pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13902 targeting Iran’s automotive and rail sectors. These determinations authorize OFAC to sanction any entity or individual operating in the aforementioned sectors. As such, the designations imposed today are being taken pursuant to E.O. 13902 and E.O. 13871, which targets key Iranian industrial sectors, namely its iron, steel, aluminum, or copper sector.
Announced by Secretary Bessent on August 24, 2026, dubbed Economic D-Day, Operation Economic Outcast is severing the remaining economic lifelines that sustain the Iranian regime. Treasury has mapped the networks, facilitators, and financial channels that Iran uses to smuggle oil, evade sanctions, and fund terror. Working with partners across the U.S. government, the European Union, United Kingdom, Gulf partners, and others, Treasury is targeting any source of the regime’s illicit revenue, as well as its sanctions evasion schemes to move funds. The United States is seeing results as Iranian airlines lose access to airports overseas and as foreign countries work to close off Iran’s financial access.
Operation Economic Outcast significantly expanded sanctions risk for those who continue to choose to do business with Iran. Treasury warned that any entity facilitating money laundering or sanctions evasion on behalf of Iran risks being cut off from the U.S. financial system. It also expanded secondary sanctions exposure for those who continue doing business with the Iranian regime and will accelerate the pace of U.S. enforcement. More information on Operation Economic Outcast is available here.
Iran’s automotive sector, Iran’s largest economic sector outside of oil and gas, remains a core contributor to Iran’s industrial base and is a major revenue generator for the regime. Though riddled with corruption and mismanagement—Iran’s automotive sector loses over $1 billion annually—the sector remains an essential component of Iran’s defense industrial base and a lucrative cash cow for the IRGC to siphon funds from an ostensibly commercial venture. While Iranian automakers claim to have a resilient, homegrown automotive manufacturing base, in reality, low-quality vehicles are often imported from third countries and rebranded under local Iranian brand names.
Two main companies represent over 90 percent of Iran’s domestic auto market: Iran Khodro Company (IKCO), which maintains close ties to the IRGC, and SAIPA Iranian Automobile Manufacturing Company (SAIPA). IKCO is Iran’s largest automaker and one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the Middle East. SAIPA is Iran’s second largest automaker, together with IKCO producing nearly 1,500,000 vehicles annually. Iran Khodro Diesel is an IKCO subsidiary and is Iran’s largest manufacturer of buses, trucks, and diesel engines. Pars Khodro Company and Zamyad Company are SAIPA subsidiaries responsible for manufacturing passenger and commercial cars, respectively.
Niroo Motor Shiraz Industrial and Manufacturing Company (Niroo Motor Shiraz), Iran’s largest motorcycle manufacturer and part of the Niroo Motor Group, uses prison labor for manufacturing and has closely cooperated with the IRGC and Basij, including supplying over 6,000 motorcycles for use by plainclothes intelligence agents on patrol. Niroo Motor Damavand Company is a subsidiary of the Niroo Motor Group.
Iran Khodro Company, SAIPA Iranian Automobile Manufacturing Company, Iran Khodro Diesel Company, Pars Khodro Company, Zamyad Company, Niroo Motor Shiraz Industrial and Manufacturing Company, and Niroo Motor Damavand Company are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13902 for operating in the automotive sector of the Iranian economy.
Companies in the Middle East and East Asia continue to export key automotive parts to sustain Iran’s auto industry and evade U.S. sanctions. Indonesia-based PT Golden Motorcycle International (PT Golden) has engaged in multiple shipments of auto parts to Niroo Motor Damavand Company.
UAE-based Integrated Auto Parts LLC has facilitated multiple auto parts shipments via UAE to Iran, importing parts transshipped from foreign companies in Turkiye and India.
Turkiye-based Troy Trading Arac Parcalari Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi has sent truck parts to Bahman Diesel Co., a subsidiary of sanctioned Iranian auto manufacturer Bahman Group, who produces heavy trucks and other work vehicles for the Iranian armed forces, including the IRGC and its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and missile divisions.
Hong Kong-based Hessenberg Co., Limited, also known as Jedburgh Co., Limited, and Tanex Global Trading Hong Kong Limited have supplied Iran’s largest auto manufacturers, including IKCO and SAIPA, with auto parts.
PT Golden Motorcycle International, Integrated Auto Parts LLC, Troy Trading Arac Parcalari Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Hessenberg Co., Limited, and Tanex Global Trading Hong Kong Limited are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13902 for operating in the automotive sector of the Iranian economy.
Iran has turned in desperation to its rail sector to help sustain its economy in the face of the U.S. military’s maritime blockade, including to transport oil and sustain regional trade. Key Iranian rail companies include the Islamic Republic of Iran Railway Company (RAI), a state-owned railroad company which provides passenger and freight services, and the Raja Passenger Trains Company, which took over certain passenger business from RAI and serves as a primary passenger rail company to domestic and limited overseas destinations. Sherkat-E Rah Ahan-E Khamle-O-Naghle, also known as the Railway Transportation Company, is a key private freight company sustaining some notable railway activities.
Islamic Republic of Iran Railway Company, Raja Passenger Trains Company, and Sherkat-E Rah Ahan-E Khamle-O-Naghle are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13902 for operating in the rail sector of the Iranian economy.
The Iranian metals industry is second only to its petroleum industry in terms of the value of exports, making it an important revenue source for the regime. Iran utilizes overseas companies to source materials for its homegrown industrial base, and for the purpose of selling its sanctioned goods to foreign buyers.
Iran-based Heavy Equipment Production Company (HEPCO) is one of the Middle East’s largest manufacturers of mining and road construction machinery, producing thousands of bulldozers, excavators, and other machines annually. HEPCO’s products have been utilized by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) to build and improve military training sites, and by the IRGC to construct underground facilities.
HEPCO Shanghai Co., Ltd (HEPCO Shanghai) serves as HEPCO’s China-based subsidiary, through which it procures raw materials and other parts for its parent company’s manufacturing hub in Iran.
Heavy Equipment Production Company is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13902 for operating in the manufacturing sector of the Iranian economy, while HEPCO Shanghai Co., Ltd is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13902 for being owned or controlled by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, HEPCO.
UAE-based Silver Line Metal Trading LLC sells stainless steel products to Iranian steel producers. Silver Line Metal Trading LLC is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13871 for operating in the iron, steel, aluminum, or copper sector of Iran, or being a person that owns, controls, or operates an entity that is part of the iron, steel, aluminum, or copper sector of Iran.
Germany-based Tech-Trade International Impex GmbH has sold multiple shipments of precursor materials to Esfahan’s Mobarakeh Steel Company (MSC) for the production of steel. MSC is one of Iran’s largest companies and the largest steel producer in the Middle East.
Iran-based Khouzestan Steel Company, one of Iran’s largest steel producers, has worked with Iranian exchange houses to remit payments to UAE-based Traco International FZE as part of the former’s international trade activities.
Tech-Trade International Impex GmbH is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13871 for having materially assisted, sponsored, or provided financial, material, or technological support for, or goods or services in support of, MSC. Traco International FZE is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13871 for operating in the iron, steel, aluminum, or copper sector of Iran, or being a person that owns, controls, or operates an entity that is part of the iron, steel, aluminum, or copper sector of Iran.
Hong Kong-based Iranian and Dominican businessman Ramin Keshvardoust (Keshvardoust) uses companies and bank accounts under his control to facilitate shipments of Iranian steel and oil worth tens of millions of dollars. Keshvardoust’s shell companies have also been used in Iran’s shadow banking system to launder millions of dollars’ worth of transactions. Since early 2025, operatives within Iran’s shadow banking system have sent dozens of transactions, totaling tens of millions in euros and U.S. dollars, to Keshvardoust shell companies, Hong Kong-based KGT Trading Limited, Dominion Trading Group Limited, Bonasol Group Co., Limited, Meizi Co., Limited, and East Concord Development Limited, on behalf of Bank Shahr rahbar company Farab Soroush Afagh Qeshm Company, which oversees the movement of funds for the bank’s clients.
Keshvardoust operates two China-based steel companies: Shanghai Ruimi Import and Export Trade Co., Ltd.(Shanghai Ruimi) and M and R Steel Co., Ltd. (M and R); and one Iran-based steel company, Fidar Foolad Radman. Hong Kong-based Iranian and Dominican businesswoman Mehnoosh Poursaraf Hamedani (Hamedani) is also a shareholder of Shanghai Ruimi and M and R.
Ramin Keshvardoust is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13871 for operating in the iron, steel, aluminum, or copper sector of Iran, or being a person that owns, controls, or operates an entity that is part of the iron, steel, aluminum, or copper sector of Iran. Shanghai Ruimi Import and Export Trade Co., Ltd., M and R Steel Co., Ltd., and Fidar Foolad Radman are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13871 for being owned or controlled by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Ramin Keshvardoust. Mehnoosh Poursaraf Hamedani is being designated pursuant to E.O. 13871 for being owned or controlled by, or having acted or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, Shanghai Ruimi Import and Export Trade Co., Ltd.
KGT Trading Limited, Dominion Trading Group Limited, Bonasol Group Co., Limited, Meizi Co., Limited, and East Concord Development Limited are being designated pursuant to E.O. 13902 for operating in the financial sector of the Iranian economy.
As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated or blocked persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50 percent or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of blocked persons.
Violations of U.S. sanctions may result in the imposition of civil or criminal penalties on U.S. and foreign persons. OFAC may impose civil penalties for sanctions violations on a strict liability basis. OFAC’s Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines provide more information regarding OFAC’s enforcement of U.S. economic sanctions. The prohibitions include the making of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services by, to, or for the benefit of any designated or blocked person, or the receipt of any contribution or provision of funds, goods, or services from any such person. Non-U.S. persons are also prohibited from causing or conspiring to cause U.S. persons to wittingly or unwittingly violate U.S. sanctions, as well as engaging in conduct that evades U.S. sanctions. Individuals located in the U.S. or abroad who provide information about sanctions violations to FinCEN’s whistleblower incentive program may be eligible for awards if the information they provide leads to a successful enforcement action that results in monetary penalties exceeding $1,000,000. In addition, financial institutions and other persons may risk exposure to sanctions for engaging in certain transactions or activities with designated or otherwise blocked persons.
Furthermore, engaging in certain transactions involving the persons designated today may risk the imposition of secondary sanctions on participating foreign financial institutions. OFAC can prohibit or impose strict conditions on opening or maintaining, in the United States, a correspondent account or a payable-through account of a foreign financial institution that knowingly conducts or facilitates any significant transaction on behalf of a person who is designated pursuant to the relevant authority.
The power and integrity of OFAC sanctions derive not only from OFAC’s ability to designate and add persons to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List), but also from its willingness to remove persons from the SDN List consistent with the law. The ultimate goal of sanctions is not to punish, but to bring about a positive change in behavior. For information concerning the process for seeking removal from an OFAC list, including the SDN List, or to submit a request, please refer to OFAC’s guidance on Filing a Petition for Removal from an OFAC List.
Click here for more information on the persons designated today.