US Sanctions Two Mumbai Firms, Five Indians Over Iran Oil Trade

The United States on Thursday tightened its economic screws on Iran, imposing sanctions on two Mumbai-based companies and five Indian nationals it accuses of helping Tehran sell petroleum products. The move is the latest strike in Washington's "Operation Economic Outcast," a campaign to choke off the revenue that keeps the Iranian regime afloat as the two countries remain locked in open war.

An oil tanker at sea. The United States has been squeezing Iranian petroleum exports as part of its economic campaign against Tehran.

The State Department announced the designations on Thursday, saying the targeted entities had facilitated imports of petroleum products from Iran and channelled millions of dollars to the Iranian regime. According to reporting by PTI carried in The Hindu BusinessLine on Friday, the action forms part of a broader package. The department's official statement said: "The Department of State is sanctioning ten entities, six individuals, and five vessels in connection with trade in Iranian-origin petroleum, petroleum products, and petrochemical products."

The Firms and Individuals Named

The two companies named in Thursday's action are both based in Mumbai: SSPL Solutions Private Limited and Samudra Marine Services Private Limited. Washington accuses both firms of facilitating the import of petroleum products from Iran.

Five Indian nationals linked to the two companies were also targeted. Two people associated with SSPL Solutions — Dhwani Vora and Nisarg Vora — and three individuals connected to Samudra Marine Services — Ketan Kochikar, Bhupendrasingh Sahu and Harishyam Hariharan Chundakattil — have been blocked from performing transactions related to their respective firms, according to the reports.

Under the designations, the individuals and companies lose access to assets held in the United States or controlled by US persons, and American citizens, businesses and financial institutions are prohibited from transacting with them unless specifically authorised by the US government. The measures sharply restrict their access to the global dollar-based financial system.

Operation Economic Outcast

Thursday's designations are part of what the Trump administration calls Operation Economic Outcast, its economic campaign against Iran. The goal, Washington says, is to sever Iran's financial lifelines by targeting its revenue sources — above all oil — and to hold accountable any country or company that keeps doing business with Tehran.

The State Department said the sanctioned entities had channelled millions of dollars to the Iranian regime, "bolstering one of its most critical revenue streams and enabling its continued illicit conduct." In the same statement, it added: "The US government is imposing sanctions on both the buyers and sellers driving this trade in Iranian petrochemical products."

It is not the first Indian round of the campaign. In August, Washington sanctioned four other India-based companies — Portease Partners LLP, Sadashiva Overseas Ltd, PP Softtech Pvt Ltd and Prakrutees Infra Impex India Pvt Ltd — along with three Indian nationals, over their alleged roles in importing Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described that package as an "economic onslaught against Iran's financial connections around the globe," warning that entities facilitating financial transactions on Iran's behalf would be removed from the dollar-based financial network. At the time he added that every country had "a defined timeline" to wind down activities identified by the United States.

Why India Is in the Spotlight

India's position is uncomfortable. New Delhi has long imported Iranian crude, though volumes fell sharply after earlier US sanctions were reimposed. Indian refiners and traders remain active buyers of petroleum products moving through middlemen — exactly the kind of trade Washington is now targeting.

The numbers behind the August round show how deep the alleged trade runs. The US Treasury accused Sadashiva Overseas of importing roughly $69 million worth of Iranian-origin petroleum products between February 2024 and June 2025; PP Softtech of nearly $25 million between January 2024 and June 2025; and Prakrutees Infra Impex of around $25 million worth between May 2023 and February 2026, sourced in part from Bonjoure Commodity F.Z.E., an entity already under US sanctions.

When the August designations landed, Indian officials said they were awaiting details, with one source tracking the matter telling The Hindu BusinessLine that "it is not yet clear what kind of sanctions these are" and that the government would watch how the development played out before deciding on its response. No formal Indian response to the latest round has been reported so far.

The US State Department building in Washington, D.C. The department said the latest sanctions target trade in Iranian-origin petroleum and petrochemical products.

What This Means

The timing is significant. The United States has been at war with Iran since late February, and Washington's naval blockade has already cut Tehran's oil exports to a fraction of their former levels. With President Donald Trump ruling out any military strikes on Iran before the November 3 midterm elections — while insisting the blockade will stay in place — the economic campaign has become the sharp end of American pressure.

By targeting Indian intermediaries, Washington is signalling that no trade partner is exempt. Secondary sanctions — punishing third-country firms for dealing with Iran — turn the screws not only on Tehran but on the governments whose companies are named, forcing them to choose between cheap Iranian barrels and access to the US financial system.

For India, which is trying to keep ties with both Washington and Tehran, the dilemma is sharpening. Each new designation list puts Indian companies on notice and raises the political cost of any trade with Iran, even as New Delhi guards its energy interests and its strategic autonomy.

The Bandra-Worli Sea Link in Mumbai, India. The two sanctioned firms are based in Mumbai, India's financial capital.

What Happens Next

The sanctioned firms and individuals face immediate practical consequences: frozen assets, severed banking ties, and blacklisting from dollar-denominated trade. Indian companies doing business anywhere near the Iranian petroleum supply chain will be recalculating their exposure.

All eyes will now be on New Delhi's reaction. India's response to the August round was muted and watchful; whether this second round — naming specific Mumbai firms and their people — draws a firmer diplomatic response remains to be seen.

The broader question is whether Operation Economic Outcast can achieve what the blockade has only partly managed: starving Iran's war machine of oil money. Washington clearly believes the campaign is working. Tehran, for its part, has refused to abandon uranium enrichment or hand over its stockpiles, and with indirect talks stalled, the economic war shows no sign of easing.