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 is part of Washington’s newly launched Operation Economic Outcast, which aims to disrupt Tehran’s international revenue networks.

The measures signal a sharper focus on businesses outside Iran. The United States has increasingly relied on secondary sanctions to pressure companies that conduct significant transactions involving Iranian energy products, extending enforcement beyond Iranian firms to the intermediaries that help move goods and payments.

Indian 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, were also sanctioned.

Sadashiva Overseas allegedly imported about $69 million of Iranian-origin petroleum products between February 2024 and June 2025. Some of those shipments reportedly involved Bonjoure Commodity FZE, which Washington had already designated.

PP Softtech and Prakrutees Infra each allegedly imported about $25 million of Iranian petroleum products during separate periods. Together, the three companies account for roughly $119 million in transactions cited by U.S. authorities.

Wider Pressure on Iran

The latest action expands a broader U.S. campaign targeting Iran’s oil revenues, procurement networks, shipping operators and other commercial intermediaries. For companies operating in or around cross-border energy trade, the designations are a reminder that compliance exposure can arise not only from direct dealings with sanctioned Iranian entities, but also from counterparties linked to those flows.

Prashant Garg, a director of PP Softtech, was also sanctioned, along with the two Portease partners. The designations restrict access to the U.S. financial system and raise compliance risks for companies that deal with the targeted entities.

For Indian businesses, the move underscores the growing risks tied to Iran-related trade. India has longstanding commercial and strategic interests involving Iran, while Washington continues to tighten enforcement against transactions that support Tehran’s energy revenues.

The sanctions could add another layer of complexity to U.S.-India economic relations as Washington broadens enforcement beyond Iranian entities themselves.