Our view We believe the main thing here is neither an airport handler nor shell companies. The main thing is the mechanism. Washington has turned access to the American financial system and the dollar into a weapon against anyone who trades outside its rules. It now punishes not its enemies but their neighbors and partners, and says so openly: “either you are with us or against us”. Look at who is hit. Turkey is Iran’s neighbor, with a long shared border and its own trade and energy interests. India pursues an independent policy and does not want to depend on a single energy supplier. Iran is trying to sell its oil and trade despite sanctions. And the US puts each of them before a choice: either you are friends with Iran and lose access to dollars, or you submit. We believe this is blackmail that is called law. Let us not forget who dictates the “rules”. The Iraq of 2003, launched on invented evidence. Gaza, where, in our conviction, a genocide is being carried out (the case at the UN International Court of Justice has not yet been decided). A currency that since 1971, when Nixon closed the gold window, has been backed by nothing but is imposed on the world through banks and sanctions. Money is printed when needed, and if someone refuses to pay with it, their settlements are cut off. Our thought is simple: the sooner countries unite, the better. Turkey, India, Iran, the Arab states, China, Russia, Africa and Latin America should pay in their own currencies, build their own payment systems, insurance and ship registries, and trade with one another without looking to Washington. We are for excluding the dictate of the US and its closest allies from our trade, finance and logistics, and for isolating a policy that rests on wars, sanctions and coercion. This is our position, not a forecast: the road from wish to result is long, and Istanbul’s Fugo and the Indian network themselves remain in this story only as accused parties, whose guilt we do not assess here. This is an editorial opinion. The mainstream assessment Washington explains the step as a fight against sanctions evasion: false flags and certificates, it says, not only hide Iranian oil but also undermine shipping safety and insurance, and Iranian airlines are used for military needs. Supporters of the hard line say that without pressure on intermediaries sanctions become window dressing. Critics, including governments and businesses in Turkey and India themselves, point to the extraterritorial and unilateral nature of such measures: the decision is made in Washington, without UN Security Council authorization, and its consequences fall on companies in third countries. What happened US sanctions on Turkey and India: on November 4 the Treasury listed an Istanbul ground-services company and an Indian network of fake ship registries. What happened and how pressure on third countries works. On November 4, 2026 the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Treasury announced sanctions on companies and individuals in Turkey and India, as well as one entity in Singapore. The action is presented as part of Operation Economic Outcast, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced on August 24, 2026 and which the Treasury calls an “economic D-Day”. Its aim, according to Washington, is to shut off several channels of support for Iran at once: oil exports, shipping, tanker registration, aviation services and financial intermediaries. Turkey. The sanctions hit Istanbul-based Fugo Ground Services Inc (also known as Fugo Aviation, founded in 2019). According to the Treasury, it provided ground handling and other services to six Iranian airlines listed on September 8, 2026: Iran Air Tour, Saha Airlines, Sepehran Airlines, Varesh Airlines, Taban Airlines and Ata Airlines. The Treasury says Fugo had direct contracts with them and began serving some of these carriers only weeks after they were blocked. Washington believes Iranian aviation is used not only for civilian flights but also to move military cargo, technology and money. This is an accusation by the American government, not an independently established fact for each flight. India. The sanctions are imposed on two Indians whom the Treasury names as organizers of the network: businessman Sunil Kumar Sharma and his wife, Jaspreet Preeti Shahid. They are accused of creating fake ship registries and classification societies that issued tankers carrying Iranian oil with “flags” and certificates. According to the Treasury, the websites posed as registries of Aruba, Guyana, Mali, Mozambique, Malawi, Sint Maarten, Timor-Leste, Nicaragua, Eswatini, Laos and Dominica. The authorities of Eswatini said publicly that they have no such authorized registry. In this connection the Treasury named the tankers LATTAFA (IMO 9245794), BINARY STAR (IMO 9380570), VERA (IMO 9304655) and PING SHUN (IMO 9231901). Besides the Sharma family, the list includes the Singapore-based Eswatini Maritime Affairs and International Ship Registry and eight Indian entities: Oceaniek Technologies India, Aryavart Ship Management, Precept Trends, Polynesia Maritime, Alexarya Finserv, Alexarya Media and Entertainment, Viharaboating and Aryavart Maritime and Educational Trust. Also listed are Ashwani Kumar Dhiman and Ishwinder Singh, nominee directors of Aryavart Ship Management. What this means. The property and interests of the sanctioned parties within US jurisdiction are blocked, American citizens and companies are barred from most dealings with them, and entities owned 50% or more by sanctioned parties are blocked automatically. The Treasury also recalls the secondary risks: foreign banks may lose their correspondent accounts in the US, and companies that help evade sanctions may end up on the lists. At the same time OFAC issued an advisory to the industry: providing services to vessels under false flags may lead to sanctions. Who does what and what they risk. Who What the US Treasury alleges What it means in practice Turkey: Fugo Ground Services (Istanbul) Ground handling for six Iranian airlines already listed on September 8, 2026 Harder to service Iran–Turkey flights; risk for airport operators India: network of Sunil Kumar Sharma and his wife Fake “ship registries” (flags and certificates) for tankers carrying Iranian oil Tighter checks on registries, intermediaries and insurance; 8 Indian entities blocked Iran Evading restrictions on oil and air travel Export logistics become costlier and riskier All allegations in the table are the position of the US Treasury, not independently established facts for each flight and vessel. An important caveat. These are not sanctions on the Turkish or Indian economy as a whole, nor an automatic ban on those countries’ trade with Iran: the blow is aimed at specific entities and the operations tied to them. Bessent, however, put his position bluntly: “either you are with us or against us”. Read also: Iran: Qatar seeks a deal while the threat of strikes hangs over the elections · The US excludes South Africa and Rwanda from the AGOA trade program. Sources Минфин США: Operation Economic Outcast Targets Global Maritime Fraud Network (04.11.2026) gCaptain: U.S. Targets Fraudulent Ship Registries Used by Iran’s Shadow Fleet Marine Insight: фиктивные морские регистры для 11 стран Swarajya: Fresh US sanctions target Indian firms, Turkish aviation company Türkiye Today: US sanctions Istanbul firm that serviced blacklisted Iranian airlines Photo: US Navy, public domain, Wikimedia Commons (US Navy sailor boarding a supertanker during a boarding inspection in the Persian Gulf, 2004, archive photo). Post navigation The US Removes South Africa and Rwanda From the AGOA Trade Program
