The U.S. Treasury Department has expanded its sanctions on Iran, penalizing Turkey-based Fugo Ground Services (Fugo Yer Hizmetleri A.Ş.), along with nine companies and four individuals linked to India. This decision falls under the Trump administration’s “Economic Exclusion Operation,” which aims to disrupt Iran’s international transport networks and prevent its oil revenues from funding military activities.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) targeted Fugo for continuing to provide ground handling services to U.S.-sanctioned Iranian airlines. According to the Treasury, Fugo has direct agreements with six carriers: Iran Air Tour, Saha Airlines, Sepehran Airlines, Varesh Airlines, Taban Airlines, and Ata Airlines. Although these airlines were blacklisted on September 8, 2026, Fugo reportedly began servicing some of them in the following weeks.

Washington claims that parts of Iran’s commercial aviation sector are controlled by the military and used to transport weapons, sensitive technology, cash, and gold to regional allies. Fugo, which operates at major Turkish airports including Istanbul, Ankara, and Antalya, was sanctioned under Executive Order 13902 for its involvement in Iran’s aviation economy.

The Indian leg of the sanctions targets a network helping Iran’s “shadow fleet” transport oil. The Treasury alleges that Suniel Kumar Sharma and his wife, Jaspreet Preeti Shahid, based in Chandigarh, have been providing fake ship flags and maritime certificates to Iranian vessels since 2014.

The couple reportedly created fraudulent websites mimicking the maritime authorities of countries including Dominica, Guyana, Eswatini, Laos, Aruba, Mali, and Mozambique. By issuing unauthorized documents, this network allowed Iranian oil tankers to bypass international inspections and evade global sanctions.