The US on Wednesday announced sanctions on entities engaged in the trading of Iranian oil, as talks between Tehran and Washington over a new nuclear deal are set to reconvene this weekend.
President Donald Trump reinstituted a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran after he returned to office in January, with the stated goal to drive Iran's petroleum exports down 90 per cent.
The State Department said the new sanctions take aim at four sellers and one purchaser of Iranian petrochemicals worth hundreds of millions of dollars, as well as a marine management company accused of playing a major role in Tehran's crude energy supply train, and an Iran-based cargo inspection company.
Two vessels managed by the marine management company have also been identified as blocked property, the State Department said.
“So long as Iran attempts to generate oil and petrochemical revenues to fund its destabilising activities, and support its terrorist activities and proxies, the United States will take steps to hold both Iran and all its partners engaged in sanctions evasion accountable,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.
These are the latest in a series of sanctions against Iran enacted by the Trump administration, and come after the US and Iran scheduled continuing talks in Rome on Saturday on the development of a new nuclear agreement.
During Mr Trump's first term in office, he withdrew the US from a deal between Iran and world powers that placed limits on its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief. In March, he indicated openness to drawing up a new deal.
Despite the continuing talks, the US has continued to hit Iran with sanctions and Mr Trump has threatened possible military action if a deal does not come to fruition quickly.
