US Sanctions Chandigarh Couple, Nine Firms Over Alleged Role in Iran's Shadow Fleet

The United States Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on an Indian couple based in Chandigarh, nine Indian entities linked to them and a Turkish ground-handling company, accusing them of helping Iran's oil trade and aviation sector evade American restrictions.

Suniel Kumar Sharma and his wife, Jaspreet Preeti Shahid, were designated along with two other Indian citizens who head two of the couple's businesses, and nine separate entities connected to Sharma. The Treasury said the network supported Iran's so-called "shadow fleet" of tankers through what it described as a web of maritime fraud.

"Their schemes have provided false flags and certifications to sanctioned vessels involved in transporting Iranian petroleum, including vessels operating on behalf of the Iranian military and its proxies," the department said in a statement.

Under international maritime practice, a vessel must be registered with a recognised flag state and hold valid safety and classification certificates, and should carry indemnity insurance. Investigators say ships that use forged flags and certificates operate outside those rules, leaving coastal states exposed to potentially heavy costs from accidents, collisions or oil spills in their waters.

According to the Treasury, Sharma and Shahid fraudulently claimed to represent countries including Guyana, Eswatini and Laos in issuing flags and certifications. Sharma's network is alleged to have bought web domains and set up websites advertising flagging, seafarer training and certification, and vessel classification on behalf of those countries and others. The couple also managed a group of India-based firms that, the Treasury says, were used to establish the registries; those firms have also been designated.

Turkey's Fugo Ground Services Inc was sanctioned for providing ground handling and other services to several Iranian airlines already under US restrictions that continued to operate flights to Turkey, including Iran Air Tour, Saha Airlines, Taban Airlines and Ata Airlines.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington would keep pursuing anyone it believes is supporting Tehran. "We know where you are, and we will sanction those who continue supporting the Iranian regime, whether by land, sea, or air," he said in a statement, adding in a post on X that under "Operation Economic Outcast", "you are either with us or against us".

The designations are part of that campaign, which the administration says is aimed at cutting off Iran's oil revenue. They follow the reimposition of a US blockade of Iranian ports on July 14, after a memorandum of understanding between Tehran and Washington on ending the conflict broke down.

The announcement came a day after US midterm elections, in which Democrats took control of both chambers of Congress. President Donald Trump has acknowledged that the war and the resulting rise in petrol prices contributed to his party's losses, but has said the military campaign was worth it. Oil prices fell sharply in volatile trading as investors weighed the possibility of an end to the conflict.

A US designation typically freezes any assets the named individuals or firms hold under American jurisdiction and bars US citizens and companies from doing business with them. Such moves can also prompt banks, insurers and shipowners worldwide to cut ties, because they fear losing access to the US financial system.

The measures are administrative actions by the Treasury, not criminal convictions. The report did not say whether the individuals named, or the Indian government, had responded to the allegations.

New Delhi has long balanced energy and trade ties with Iran against its broader partnership with Washington. Indian refiners halted purchases of Iranian crude after the United States ended sanctions waivers in 2019, and India has since expanded its intake from other producers.