U.S. Imposes New Iran Sanctions Targeting Financier Linked to Mojtaba Khamenei

WASHINGTON, D.C (Terror Monitor) — The United States on Friday announced new Iran-related sanctions targeting a key financier allegedly linked to Iran’s new leader Mojtaba Khamenei, along with 13 other individuals and entities, the U.S. Treasury Department said.

The sanctions targeted Ali Ansari, an Iranian banker and businessman based in Dubai, who had previously been sanctioned by the United Kingdom for his alleged role in financially supporting activities linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other entities.

According to the Treasury Department, Ansari diverted publicly funded wealth into an extensive overseas portfolio of real estate and commercial holdings, benefiting himself, Iranian government elites, and the IRGC.

The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) also imposed sanctions on three Iran-based exchange houses and foreign front companies that it said transferred billions of dollars annually on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks through networks of shell companies designed to conceal financial activities.

“The United States is taking decisive action to cut off the financial lifelines sustaining Iran’s ruling elite,” State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said, adding that Washington was targeting networks that enable Tehran to access foreign currency and conduct international financial transactions.

The sanctions announcement came after a week of renewed tensions in the region, during which three Qatari and Saudi commercial tankers came under Iranian fire, prompting U.S. strikes on Iranian sites and subsequent Iranian attacks on U.S. military facilities in Gulf countries.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that the ceasefire agreement with Iran was over, but Washington had agreed to continue talks at Tehran’s request.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the department would continue using “every tool at its disposal” to isolate Mojtaba Khamenei and other senior Iranian officials from the global financial system.

Iran has said it is prepared for “all-out defense” if the United States violates the memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreed last month. Iran’s chief negotiator, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on Telegram that the war would not end with Tehran’s surrender.

Brett Erickson, managing principal at Obsidian Risk Advisors, said the sanctions indicated that Washington was no longer seeking to preserve the existing framework but was preparing to replace it.

The Treasury Department said Ansari was previously the owner and director of Ayandeh Bank, a U.S.-sanctioned Iranian bank that was shut down by Iranian authorities in October 2025.

It alleged that Ansari used multiple shell companies and bank accounts across several jurisdictions to build a portfolio worth millions of dollars through Smart Global Limited, a holding company based in Saint Kitts and Nevis that invested in real estate and commercial properties in Europe, the Gulf region, and elsewhere.

The Treasury Department alleged that although many assets were held in Ansari’s name, they ultimately benefited Mojtaba Khamenei, his family, Iranian elites, and members of the IRGC.

OFAC also announced sanctions against Iranian nationals linked to the targeted exchange houses, as well as Hong Kong-based CDM Trading Limited and UAE-based Naba Alzaki Raw Materials Trading LLC, which it accused of facilitating financial transactions connected to those networks.