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A dual Iraqi-British citizen, Salim Ahmed Said, has been sanctioned by U.S. authorities for allegedly operating a billion-dollar oil smuggling scheme that helped finance Iran’s regime.
According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Said orchestrated a complex network of companies that secretly traded Iranian oil by falsifying documents and bribing officials. This enabled the oil to appear as though it originated in Iraq or the United Arab Emirates before being sold to Western buyers over a period of at least five years.
Officials claim that some of the operation's profits were funneled to Iran to support the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), which the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization.
Said allegedly employed various strategies to hide the oil's true origin, including blending Iranian and Iraqi oil aboard tankers. He is also accused of paying millions in bribes to Iraqi government officials to obtain fake certificates stating the oil was from Iraq.
In addition to owning an oil shipping company based in the UAE, Said is believed to be linked to two UK-based firms: The Willett Hotel Limited and Robinbest Limited, though he reportedly kept his connection to the tanker company unofficial.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the sanctions are part of continued efforts to cut off Iran’s financial lifelines, stating, “While Iran has had the chance to pursue peace, its leaders have chosen extremism. We will keep up economic pressure to block the regime’s access to resources that fuel its destabilizing actions.”
Several vessels tied to the smuggling operation have also been sanctioned in an effort to crack down on Iran’s so-called “shadow fleet” of covert oil carriers.
