The United States has sanctioned four India-based companies and three Indian nationals over alleged involvement in Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical trade. The action forms part of Washington’s newly launched Operation Economic Outcast, which seeks to disrupt Tehran’s international revenue networks.
The sanctions mark a sharper focus on businesses outside Iran. Washington has increasingly used secondary sanctions to pressure companies that conduct significant transactions involving Iranian energy products.
India Firms Face Sanctions
The U.S. identified Portease Partners LLP, Sadashiva Overseas Limited, PP Softtech Private Limited and Prakrutees Infra Impex India Private Limited in the latest action.
Portease Partners, described as an India-based customs broker, allegedly facilitated multiple shipments of Iranian petrochemical products into India. Two of its designated partners, Indrismiya Ashrafmiya Shekh and Harish Ramchandra Rangi, also face sanctions.
Sadashiva Overseas allegedly imported about $69 million of Iranian-origin petroleum products between February 2024 and June 2025. Some shipments reportedly involved Bonjoure Commodity FZE, which Washington had previously designated.
PP Softtech and Prakrutees Infra each allegedly imported about $25 million of Iranian petroleum products during separate periods. The three companies therefore account for approximately $119 million in transactions cited by U.S. authorities.
Broader Pressure on Iran
The latest measures extend a wider U.S. campaign targeting Iran’s oil revenues, procurement networks, shipping operators and other commercial intermediaries.
Prashant Garg, a director of PP Softtech, was also sanctioned alongside the two Portease partners. The designations restrict access to the U.S. financial system and increase compliance risks for companies dealing with the targeted entities.
For Indian businesses, the action highlights the growing risks associated with Iran-related trade. India maintains longstanding commercial and strategic interests involving Iran, while Washington continues to tighten enforcement against transactions that support Tehran’s energy revenues.
The sanctions could therefore add another layer of complexity to U.S.-India economic relations, particularly as Washington expands enforcement beyond Iranian entities themselves.
