US targets Iran's 'shadow fleet' over crackdown on protesters

WASHINGTON, Jan 23 (Reuters) - The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on nine vessels of what is known as the shadow fleet and eight related firms, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement, as Washington sought to escalate pressure on Iran over the recent killing of protesters.

The Treasury said the vessels and their respective owners or management firms, which include entities based in India, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, have collectively transported hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil and petroleum products to foreign markets.

"Today’s sanctions target a critical component of how Iran generates the funds used to repress its own people. As previously outlined, Treasury will continue to track the tens of millions of dollars that the regime has stolen and is desperately attempting to wire to banks outside of Iran," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the statement.

Rights groups say thousands of people, including bystanders, were killed during the unrest in Iran, which they describe as the biggest crackdown since Shi'ite Muslim clerics took power in the 1979 revolution.

Trump had repeatedly threatened to intervene against Iran over the recent killings of protesters there, but protests dwindled last week and President Donald Trump's rhetoric regarding Iran has eased.

The shadow fleet refers to ships that carry oil that is under sanctions. They are typically old, their ownership opaque and they sail without the top-tier insurance cover needed to meet international standards for oil majors and many ports.

(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Susan HeaveyEditing by Rod Nickel)