The US State and Treasury departments on Monday levied a barrage of economic sanctions against 22 people and 13 ships linked to Iran’s petroleum and petrochemical industries.
“Iran continues to rely on a shadowy network of vessels, shippers and brokers to facilitate its oil sales and fund its destabilising activities,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
On February 4, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum returned to the stance he took in his first term, directing the Treasury Department to impose “maximum economic pressure” to try to prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon. The latest round of sanctions were aimed people and entities based in countries including China and India.
“This network of illicit shipping facilitators obfuscates and deceives its role in loading and transporting Iranian oil for sale to buyers in Asia,” the State Department said. “It has shipped tens of millions of barrels of crude oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars.”
They are part of a broader effort from Washington to bring Iran’s “oil exports to zero".
“Today’s action represents an initial step to realise President Trump’s campaign of maximum pressure on the Iranian regime,” the State Department said. “It disrupts efforts by Iran to amass oil revenues to fund terrorists’ activities.”
Oil is a top source of revenue for Iran, and measures against the country's exports are aimed at denying the government funds for its nuclear and missile programmes.
Among those listed under sanctions on Monday was Hamid Bovard, Iran's Deputy Petroleum Minister, and the chief executive officer of the National Iranian Oil Company. The US previously designated the company for providing support to the foreign operations arm of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
Meanwhile, Iran held talks with Germany, France and Britain, known as the E3, about its nuclear programme. "I held a new round of constructive talks with E3 political directors," Tehran's Deputy Foreign Minister for International Affairs, Kazem Gharibabadi, said in a post on X. The meeting took place on the sidelines of Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's visit to the Swiss city to attend the UN Conference on Disarmament and a meeting of the Human Rights Council.
During his first term as US president, Mr Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal and efforts to revive the pact have since faltered and European officials have repeatedly expressed frustrations over Tehran's non-compliance.