BREAKING: The Trump administration on Friday significantly escalated its "Maximum Pressure" campaign against Tehran, dismantling the "Shadow Fleet" by imposing sweeping sanctions on Hengli Petrochemical, one of China’s largest private refiners, and a sprawling network of 40 shipping firms and vessels.

The move marks a definitive strike against the financial lifelines of the Iranian military and comes amid heightened tensions in the Persian Gulf.

According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the China's Dalian-based Hengli Petrochemical Refining Co., Ltd., which operates a massive 400,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) facility, provided a critical revenue stream for the Iranian military’s destabilizing activities.

The sanctions target a sophisticated maritime network that has allowed Iran to export an estimated 1.5 million to 1.8 million bpd of crude in recent months.

The targeted network is estimated to have facilitated the movement of over $4 billion in petroleum products in the last 12 months alone.

Records show a 300% increase in "dark" Ship-to-Ship (STS) transfers in the Malacca Strait over the past year, where Iranian oil is rebranded as "Malaysian Blend."

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