'Hiding In Seclusion': US Sanctions Mojtaba Khamenei-Linked Financier, 13 Others Amid Renewed Conflict

Last Updated:July 11, 2026, 13:59 IST

The US Treasury Department said the sanctions targeted Ali Ansari, an Iranian banker and businessman based in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)

The United States on Friday imposed fresh sanctions against a key financier linked to Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and 13 other individuals as well as entities. The development unfolded against fresh tumult in West Asia as Washington and Tehran exchanged strikes this week.

The US Treasury Department said the sanctions targeted Ali Ansari, an Iranian banker and businessman based in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Ansari was previously sanctioned by the United Kingdom for financially supporting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and other entities.

“Ansari has effectively institutionalized large‑scale embezzlement within the Iranian regime, diverting publicly funded wealth into an extensive overseas portfolio of real estate and commercial holdings to enrich himself, regime elites—including notable senior figures within the Supreme Leader’s Office —and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)", the department said in a release.

A former owner and director of the U.S. sanctioned and now bankrupt and defunct Ayandeh Bank, Ali Ansari created a global network of investment properties and financial holdings, “both on behalf of Mojtaba Khamenei and for his own self-serving interests by using his close ties to regime elites", it said.

The Treasury said Ansari used numerous shell companies and bank accounts across various jurisdictions and accumulated millions of dollars’ worth of holdings under the Saint Kitts and Nevis-based Smart Global Limited, a holding company established in 2011.

“Through Smart Global Limited, Ansari has invested the Iranian people’s money into real estate and commercial properties throughout Germany, Luxembourg, Spain, the United Kingdom, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, and beyond", the statement read.

US-Iran War News Live

Mojtaba Out Of Public View

Ever since he was named the Supreme Leader of Iran after the assassination of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei –– who was killed in the joint US-Israeli strikes on the opening day of the West Asia conflict –– Mojtaba Khamenei has stayed out of public view due to regional threats and security concerns.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent trained guns at Khamenei and said: “The so-called Supreme Leader is hiding in seclusion while his regime crumbles".

“Treasury will continue using every tool at its disposal to isolate him and other regime elites from the global financial system.  We will preserve these assets for the Iranian people", he added.

The development came in the wake of a fresh escalation in West Asia after the US and Iran exchanged a spate of strikes. On Wednesday, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) launched strikes targeting multiple sites across Iran in what it described as an “immediate response" to Tehran’s attack on three vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz.

However, a CBS News report said Iran stated that an “errant" group of hardliners had tried to undermine negotiations by firing on commercial ships transiting the strategic waterway, according to a senior US official.

‘Agreed To Continue Talks’

US President Donald Trump said Friday that he had agreed to continue negotiations with Iran, even as he asserted that the ceasefire with Tehran was over. The remarks came amid fresh turmoil in the region after the two sides exchanged strikes.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has asked us to continue ‘talks.’ We have agreed to do so, but the United States has stated to them, in no uncertain terms, that the Cease Fire is OVER! Thank you for your attention to this matter," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social.

News world 'Hiding In Seclusion': US Sanctions Mojtaba Khamenei-Linked Financier, 13 Others Amid Renewed Conflict

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