The UK has announced a new round of sanctions aimed at cutting off financial networks that help fund Iran’s destabilising activities in the Middle East and beyond.
Hamish Falconer, the UK’s Minister for the Middle East, said the move targets people and organisations that work on behalf of Iran, providing the money and infrastructure it needs to spread influence through proxies, fuel conflict, and even pose threats closer to home in the UK.
“Iran relies heavily on revenue from trading networks and front companies,” Falconer explained. “By shutting down these channels, we’re sending a clear message: the UK will not tolerate behaviour that threatens our security or undermines global stability.”
Who’s been sanctioned?
Hossein Shamkhani – now faces an asset freeze, a travel ban, and a ban from serving as a company director.
Four companies – Petrochemical Commercial Company (PCC), Admiral Group, Ocean Leonid Investments, and Milavous Group – all hit with asset freezes and director bans.
This means their assets in the UK are locked, they can’t access funds through UK businesses or citizens, and in Shamkhani’s case, he can’t enter the country.
The bigger picture
Today’s measures fall under the Iran Sanctions Regulations (2023). They add to an already long list: more than 450 Iranian individuals and entities have now been sanctioned by the UK for human rights abuses, advancing Iran’s nuclear programme, and spreading malign influence overseas.
The government says this is part of its wider “Plan for Change”, aimed at protecting the British public while holding Iran accountable on the international stage. Photo by Apcbg, Wikimedia commons.