Iranian Petroleum Magnate Sanctioned by Trump After Attempted Texas Oil Transfer

In a decisive move against Iran’s global oil smuggling network, the Trump administration announced sweeping new sanctions Tuesday targeting two Iranian petroleum magnates Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh and his son Meisam Emamjomeh after one of their vessels was caught attempting to load cargo off the coast of Houston.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the men used a web of front companies spanning Iran, the UAE, and the UK to funnel hundreds of millions of dollars in liquified petroleum gas (LPG) into foreign markets, enriching the Iranian regime and funding terror proxies like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis.

One of their vessels, the TINOS I, was on its maiden voyage in June 2024 when it attempted to lift LPG near Houston to send to China, an apparent violation of U.S. sanctions. Maritime intelligence outlet Lloyd’s List alerted U.S. authorities to the vessel's suspicious movements.

• Seyed Emamjomeh, based in Iran, has run LPG firms for over a decade and is tied to Iran’s National Iranian Gas Company.

• His son Meisam, based in the UAE and UK, is connected to multiple shell companies used to move Iranian gas through Europe, Asia, and Pakistan.

• The companies are linked to PGPICC, a front for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a U.S.-designated terrorist organization.

“This network not only violated U.S. sanctions but also provided direct financial support to one of the most dangerous regimes in the world,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “We’re shutting them down.”

The sanctions were issued under Executive Order 13902, which targets sectors of the Iranian economy tied to terrorism, missile development, and nuclear proliferation. The designations freeze all U.S.-based assets, ban American transactions with the targets, and extend to a dozen shell companies and vessels used in the scheme.

Companies and Entities Sanctioned:

• Pearl Petrochemical FZE (UAE)

• Worldwide LPG Limited (UK)

• Caspian Petrochemical FZE

• Petro Parsa Caspian Iranian Company

• Parsa Trabar Caspian International Transportation

• …and several others spanning Iran’s shipping, engineering, and energy sectors.

The Treasury noted that PGPICC, designated in 2019, is owned by Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industries Co., a key funding arm of the IRGC's Khatam al-Anbiya, the terror group’s sprawling engineering conglomerate.

The designation of the TINOS I as property of a sanctioned entity means the U.S. now has legal authority to seize the vessel, should it enter U.S. jurisdiction again.

This latest action aligns with Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign, which pairs hard-nosed diplomacy with economic warfare to choke off Iran’s ability to fund terrorism.

As negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program quietly continue behind the scenes, the Trump administration is making it clear: there will be no compromise on enforcing sanctions or protecting U.S. sovereignty.

This is what decisive foreign policy looks like crippling the financial networks of a terror-sponsoring regime and defending American economic and national security at home and abroad.

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