In 2022, the United States imposed sanctions on Iran for issues ranging from missile production to oil smuggling and from violence against protesters to drone exports to Russia. It sanctioned dozens of government officials, including members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the intelligence ministry and state media. It also designated dozens of international companies that dealt with Iran’s oil industry. The sanctions froze all assets of the designated individuals and entities within U.S. jurisdiction and prohibited transactions with them. The following is a timeline of U.S. sanctions in 2022.
March 30, 2022
The United States sanctioned an Iranian man and four companies for procuring equipment used in Iran’s ballistic missile program. “We have taken this action following Iran’s recent missile attack on Erbil, Iraq, as well as missile attacks by Iranian proxies against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. “These attacks are a reminder that Iran’s development and proliferation of ballistic missiles pose a serious threat to regional and international security.”
May 25, 2022
The United States sanctioned an oil smuggling network that secretly funded both Iran’s Qods Force, the external operations arm of the Revolutionary Guards, and Hezbollah, a Lebanese political party and militia. The United States named a web of nine companies and 10 men operating in Iran, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Russia, South Korea, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates. They facilitated the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of oil.
June 16, 2022
The United States sanctioned a network smuggling Iranian petrochemical products, a class of chemicals derived from oil and natural gas essential to manufacturing paints, plastics, solar panels, medicine and mobile phones that facilitate modern life. The goods were exported to China and other countries in East Asia. The Treasury Department named two men and nine companies operating in Iran, China, and the United Arab Emirates. The move marks a tightening of U.S. sanctions on both Iran and third parties that deal in Iranian goods.
July 6, 2022
The United States sanctioned a network that smuggled hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products to East Asia. Petrochemicals, derived from oil and natural gas, are essential to manufacturing paints, plastics, solar panels, medicine, and mobile phones that facilitate modern life.
The Treasury Department named two Iranian men and eight companies based in Iran, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The State Department also sanctioned five companies – based in Iran, Singapore and Vietnam – and two vessels linked to the sale and transport of petroleum products from Iran. The move marked a tightening of U.S. sanctions on both Iran and third parties that deal in Iranian goods.
August 1, 2022
The United States sanctioned six companies for helping to sell millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian oil and petrochemical products to East Asian buyers. Petrochemicals, derived from oil and natural gas, are essential to manufacturing paints, plastics, solar panels, medicine, and mobile phones that facilitate modern life.
The Treasury Department named four companies: three based in China, and one based in the United Arab Emirates. The State Department also sanctioned a company based in China and another in Singapore, as well as a Panama-flagged tanker. Iran’s Persian Gulf Petrochemical Industry Commercial Co., one of the nation’s largest petrochemical brokers, used the six firms to facilitate the sale and shipment of Iranian oil and petrochemical products.
September 8, 2022
The United States sanctioned four Iranian companies and a defense contractor for providing drones to Russia for use in Ukraine. The move reflects a tightening of the sanctions noose around countries facilitating Vladimir Putin’s war machine. “The Russian military is suffering from major supply shortages in Ukraine, in part because of sanctions and export controls, forcing Russia to turn to unreliable countries like Iran for supplies and equipment,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. “The United States will hold those who support Russia’s unprovoked war against Ukraine to account, including by continuing to sanction Iranian or other entities that provide lethal aid to Russia.”
September 9, 2022
The United States sanctioned Iran’s intelligence ministry and minister for cyberattacks against the United States and its allies. “Iran’s cyberattacks targeting civilian government services and critical infrastructure sectors can cause grave damage to these services and disregard norms of responsible peacetime state behavior in cyberspace,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
September 14, 2022
The United States sanctioned 10 Iranian men and two companies for hacking computer systems and installing ransomware, which can prevent victims from getting access to their files and data unless they pay a ransom to the hackers. “Ransomware actors and other cybercriminals target businesses and critical infrastructure and threaten the physical security and economy of the United States and other nations,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
The individuals and firms designated by Treasury have reportedly been linked to the IRGC. “This group has launched extensive campaigns against organizations and officials worldwide,” Treasury said in a statement. The targets included U.S. and Middle Eastern defense, diplomatic, and government personnel as well as private industries including media, energy, business services, and telecommunications.
September 22, 2022
The United States sanctioned Iran’s Morality Police and seven senior security officials for the death of Mahsa Amini and violence against protestors. The 22-year-old woman was detained by Morality Police in Tehran on September 13 for an “improper” hijab, or head covering. She was allegedly beaten and then died in custody three days later. Her death sparked protests in more than a dozen cities, leading to several deaths amid clashes with security forces.
September 29, 2022
The United States sanctioned an international network of companies for selling Iranian petrochemicals and petroleum products worth millions of dollars to Asian buyers. Petrochemicals, derived from oil and natural gas, are essential to manufacturing paints, plastics, solar panels, medicine, and mobile phones that facilitate modern life.
The State Department named two companies based in China that were involved in illicit oil sales. The Treasury Department designated eight other firms based in Hong Kong, Iran, India, and the United Arab Emirates. Those companies concealed the Iranian origin of the petrochemicals and petroleum products; they worked with two previously sanctioned Iranian brokers to ship the cargo to Asia.
October 6, 2022
The United States sanctioned seven senior Iranian officials for violence against protestors and curtailing internet access following the death of Mahsa Amini. The 22-year-old Kurdish woman had been detained for “improper” clothing on September 13. Her death three days later sparked protests in dozens of cities across Iran’s 31 provinces, leading to more than 100 deaths amid clashes with security forces.
October 26, 2022
The United States sanctioned 14 senior officials—including IRGC commanders, intelligence and police officials, prison administrators, and a governor—from at least five provinces. It also designated an internet surveillance company, a prison, and a cybersecurity training institute for their roles in censorship, surveillance, and broad human rights violations during the 2022 protests or a previous demonstration in 2021.
October 28, 2022
The United States sanctioned Iran’s 15 Khordad Foundation for offering a $3.3 million bounty for the murder of Salman Rushdie, the British-American author of “The Satanic Verses.” Thirty-four years after his book was published, Rushdie was attacked while giving a lecture at the Chautauqua Institution in New York on Aug. 12, 2022. The bounty was first announced after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa calling on Muslims worldwide to kill Rushdie for blasphemy in February 1989, five months after the book was published. Rushdie, who went underground for more than a decade, was the target of multiple death threats. He later emerged and appeared often in public.
November 3, 2022
The United States sanctioned an international network that smuggled Iranian oil for the Qods Force, the external operation arms of the Revolutionary Guards, and Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia and political party backed by Tehran. “This network has facilitated the sale of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of oil for these organizations,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. “The network consists of shell and front companies established to facilitate the illegal blending and exportation of Iranian oil around the world.”
November 15, 2022
The United States imposed sanctions on Iranians and Russians involved in the export of drones used in Ukraine. The State and Treasury Departments designed three Iranian entities, a Russian paramilitary, two Russian nationals, and two transportations firms based in the United Arab Emirates. The United States is “determined to sanction people and companies, no matter where they are located, that support Russia’s unjustified invasion of Ukraine,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned in a statement.
November 16, 2022
The United States sanctioned four senior officials and two journalists at the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) for involvement in censorship and airing forced confessions of detainees. The journalists worked with the Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and the IRGC to interrogate activists, religious minorities, and political detainees. The senior officials led IRIB and its foreign language affiliates.
November 17, 2022
The United States sanctioned an international network of companies for smuggling Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products. Petrochemicals, derived from oil and natural gas, are essential to manufacturing paints, plastics, solar panels, medicine, and mobile phones that facilitate modern life. “The United States is committed to enforcing our sanctions against Iran, including those related to the petroleum and petrochemical trade,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. “Anyone involved in facilitating these sales and transactions risks exposure to U.S. sanctions.”
November 23, 2022
The United States sanctioned three Iranian security officials for the ongoing crackdown on protesters. “The Iranian regime is reportedly targeting and gunning down its own children, who have taken to the street to demand a better future,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson. “The abuses being committed in Iran against protestors, including most recently in Mahabad, must stop.” In November, security forces intensified operations in Kurdish areas, including the western cities of Mahabad and Sanandaj.
December 8, 2022
The United States sanctioned five Turkish businessmen, an international network of 26 companies, and a tanker that smuggled oil for Iran’s Qods Force, the external operations arm of the Revolutionary Guards, and Hezbollah, a Lebanese political party and militia backed by Tehran. The companies, led by Sitki Ayan, smuggled oil to China and Russia and generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue for the Qods Force. “For years, Ayan’s companies have established international sales contracts for Iranian oil with foreign purchasers, arranged shipments of oil, and helped launder the proceeds,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. Ayan's activities were a "critical element” of Qods Force oil smuggling operations, he added.
December 9, 2022
The United States sanctioned 17 Iranian law enforcement, prison, and government officials for the ongoing crackdown. “We reiterate our condemnation of Iran’s brutal acts of violence against peaceful protestors, ongoing denial of human rights and fundamental freedoms, and pervasive oppression and state-sponsored violence against women,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. “Today, we are responding to this repressive behavior in coordination with international partners.” The move signaled continued U.S. support for Iranian demonstrators after nearly three months of unrest.
December 21, 2022
The United States sanctioned Iran’s prosecutor general, four military officials and one company for the crackdown on nationwide protests that erupted in September 2022. Iranian authorities “have killed hundreds of peaceful protestors, including dozens of children, and arbitrarily detained thousands, in addition to using sexual violence against protestors, according to extensive and credible reports,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.