US sanctions Dubai financier Ali Ansari for financing Iran regime

On July 10‑11 2026 the U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced a new sanctions package targeting Dubai‑based Iranian businessman Ali Ansari. The measures accuse Ansari of managing a global network of shell companies and real‑estate holdings in Europe and the Middle East that enrich Mojtaba Khamenei, senior Iranian officials and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The Treasury says the network diverted public funds into overseas assets and facilitated billions of dollars in transactions for sanctioned Iranian banks.

The sanctions also designate three Iran‑based currency‑exchange houses—Mohammad Darbani and Partners, Lavasani and Partners, and Mohsen Khandan and Partners—along with their managing partners and associated front companies in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates. U.S. officials said the actions aim to cut off the regime’s access to foreign currency after Tehran resumed attacks on oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, which prompted U.S. military strikes.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned the administration will “use every tool at its disposal to isolate” the regime’s elites, while State Department spokesperson Tommy Piggot emphasized the goal of preserving Iran’s assets for its people.