The U.S. Government ratcheted up pressure on Tehran on Tuesday (April 28, 2026), imposing sanctions on 35 entities ‌and individuals for their roles in Iran’s shadow banking sector, and threatened sanctions against banks doing business with Chinese “teapot” refineries that it said are paying tolls for shipments to cross the Strait of Hormuz.

The Treasury ⁠Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said the designated individuals and firms had facilitated the movement of the equivalent of tens of billions of dollars tied to sanctions evasion and what it called Iran’s sponsorship of terrorism.