The US on Wednesday imposed sanctions on what it described as a Russian-backed oil smuggling and money laundering network for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force, even as Washington tries to revive the nuclear deal with Tehran.
The Treasury Department said the network is led by current and former Quds Force figures, “backed by senior levels of the Russian Federation government” and included Chinese companies and a former Afghan diplomat.
It had raised hundreds of millions of dollars for the Quds Force and Iran's Lebanese allies Hezbollah, and helped Tehran support proxy militant groups, the Treasury said.
The Quds Force is the foreign espionage and paramilitary arm of the IRGC and controls its allied militia abroad. The administration for former president Donald Trump put the guards on the US State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organisations in 2019, the first time Washington had formally labelled another nation’s military as a terrorist group.
President Joe Biden's administration has been engaged in indirect talks to restart a 2015 deal Mr Trump abandoned, under which world powers lifted international financial sanctions on Tehran in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.
“While the United States continues to seek a mutual return to full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA], we will strictly enforce sanctions on Iran’s illicit oil trade,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a separate statement, referring to the nuclear deal.
The Iranian mission to the UN in New York and the Russian and Chinese embassies in Washington did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
While talks had appeared close to resurrecting the nuclear deal in March, they stalled over last-minute Russian demands and whether Washington might drop the IRGC from its terrorism list.
Washington's Iran envoy said on Wednesday that the chances of reviving the nuclear deal were shaky at best and that Washington was ready to tighten sanctions on Iran.
Wednesday's sanctions hit Russia-based RPP LLC, which the Treasury said was used to help transfer millions of dollars on behalf of the Quds Force, and Zamanoil DMCC, which Washington accused of working with the Russian government and state-owned Rosneft to ship Iranian oil to companies in Europe.
A former Afghan chargé d’affaires in Moscow was named in the sanctions, as were several people described as associates of the IRGC.
Among a number of China-based companies that were designated were Haokun Energy Group Company Limited and its Hong Kong subsidiary China Haokun Energy Limited. The Treasury accused China Haokun Energy Limited of purchasing millions of barrels of Iranian oil from the Quds Force.
Reuters was not immediately able to contact the designated companies.
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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Bert van Marwijk factfile
Born: May 19 1952
Place of birth: Deventer, Netherlands
Playing position: Midfielder
Teams managed:
1998-2000 Fortuna Sittard
2000-2004 Feyenoord
2004-2006 Borussia Dortmund
2007-2008 Feyenoord
2008-2012 Netherlands
2013-2014 Hamburg
2015-2017 Saudi Arabia
2018 Australia
Major honours (manager):
2001/02 Uefa Cup, Feyenoord
2007/08 KNVB Cup, Feyenoord
World Cup runner-up, Netherlands
Company%20profile
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
