Operation Economic Outcast: US sanctions four Indian firms over Iran oil trade

The US has sanctioned four India-based companies and three Indian nationals over their alleged involvement in Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical trade, extending Washington’s latest pressure campaign against Tehran to businesses in India.

The State Department announced the designations on Monday, 24 August, as part of ‘Operation Economic Outcast,’ a broader campaign intended to cut Iran off from international trade and the dollar-based financial system.

The companies are Portease Partners LLP, Sadashiva Overseas Ltd, PP Softtech Pvt. Ltd and Prakrutees Infra Impex India Pvt. Ltd, according to a State Department fact sheet.

Washington alleged that Portease Partners, an India-based customs broker, facilitated multiple shipments of Iranian petrochemical products into India. It did not disclose the value or timing of those shipments.

Two of the firm’s designated partners, Indian nationals Indrismiya Asharafmiya Shekh and Harish Ramchandra Rangi, were also sanctioned.

Sadashiva Overseas allegedly imported about $69 million of Iranian-origin petroleum products from several suppliers between February 2024 and June 2025. The suppliers included Bonjour Commodity FZE, a company already sanctioned by the US, the State Department said.

PP Softtech allegedly imported about $25 million of Iranian-origin petroleum products between January 2024 and June 2025. Its director, Indian national Prashant Garg, was also sanctioned.

Prakrutees Infra Impex allegedly imported $25 million of Iranian-origin petroleum products from multiple suppliers, including Bonjour Commodity, between May 2023 and February 2026.

The three importers were accused of handling at least $119 million of Iranian petroleum products. The figure excludes the shipments allegedly facilitated by Portease because Washington did not provide their value.

The companies were designated under Executive Order 13846, which authorizes sanctions against people and businesses that knowingly engage in significant transactions involving Iranian petroleum or petrochemical products.

The designations block any property and interests in property held by the sanctioned companies and individuals in the US or under the control of US persons. US persons are generally prohibited from dealing with them unless authorized by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

Businesses owned 50% or more, directly or indirectly, by one or more of the sanctioned parties are also blocked.

There was no immediate public response from the companies or the Indian government.

The India-linked designations formed part of a wider package involving petroleum traders, procurement networks, maritime-service providers and shadow-fleet operators. The Treasury Department concurrently targeted nearly 60 companies, individuals and vessels.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the operation was intended to sever Iran’s remaining financial connections. The US also expanded the risk of secondary sanctions across digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping, according to the White House.

Secondary sanctions can penalize non-US companies for dealings with Iran by restricting their access to the US financial system. Washington has warned governments, banks and businesses that continued engagement with Tehran could result in exclusion from dollar-based markets.

Iran said it would resist the expanded measures and expressed confidence that major trading partners would reject Washington’s pressure campaign, Reuters reported.