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The United States has sanctioned 14 nautical vessels as part of what it calls a “shadow fleet” circumventing restrictions on the transport of Iranian oil and petroleum products.
In addition, the country’s Department of State also announced sanctions against two people and 15 entities — including ship management companies based in countries like China, Liberia and Turkiye — for having “traded in Iranian-origin crude oil, petroleum products or petrochemical products”.
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The US has a long history of sanctions against Iran and its oil sector. But the latest slate of sanctions on Friday comes as the two countries hold talks in Oman to try to lessen the escalating tensions between them.
In a statement on Friday, the US State Department signalled that the new sanctions were designed to support the antigovernment protests that have gripped Iran in recent months.
“Time and time again, the Iranian government has prioritized its destabilizing behavior over the safety and security of its own citizens, as demonstrated by the regime’s mass murder of peaceful protestors,” the statement read.
Threat of tariffs
The State Department added that it would continue to impose economic penalties on any individual or group that helps to prop up Iran’s economy.
Within hours the sanctions announcement, President Donald Trump signed an executive order threatening additional tariffs against any country that “acquires any goods or services from Iran”.
In a fact sheet, Trump compared the tariff threat to a similar measure taken against countries that might otherwise supply oil to Cuba, which faces a US-led energy blockade.
In both cases, Trump has accused the governments in Havana and Tehran of supporting “terrorism” and posing a threat to US national security.
The administration’s aim is to “stem the flow of revenue that the regime in Tehran uses to support terrorism abroad and repress its citizens”, according to the State Department.
“The United States will continue to act against the network of shippers and traders involved in the transport and acquisition of Iranian crude oil, petroleum products, and petrochemical products, which constitutes the regime’s primary source of income,” the State Department said on Friday.
A pressure campaign
The sanctions and tariff threat are the latest one-two punch in a mounting pressure campaign against Iran under President Trump.
Over the last month, Trump has voiced a willingness to take further military action against Iran, following the air strikes he authorised on three Iranian nuclear facilities in June of last year.
On January 2, for instance, Trump warned he would come to the “rescue” of any Iranian protesters killed in the country’s crackdown. The US, he added, was “locked and loaded and ready to go”.
A week and a half later, on January 13, CBS News aired an interview where Trump asserted that the US “will take very strong action” against Iran should protesters face execution.
Separately, that same day, he posted a message on Truth Social encouraging the demonstrators to continue their protests, adding, “HELP IS ON ITS WAY.”
In late January, Trump took a further step, announcing the deployment of a “massive armada”, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, to the waterways near Iran. An Iranian drone was reportedly shot down this week as it approached the aircraft carrier.
Negotiations underway
But US allies in the Middle East have encouraged the Trump administration to avoid any military escalation with Iran, for fear of sparking a destabilising, region-wide conflict.
In advance of Friday’s talks in Oman, the Trump administration released a list of demands, which included not only the dismantlement of Iran’s nuclear programme but also restrictions on its ballistic missile stockpile and its ability to back armed groups in the region.
While Iranian officials have baulked at some of the demands, Friday’s negotiations concluded with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi calling it a “good start”. The US has yet to comment on the talks.
During Trump’s first term as president, the US withdrew from a 2015 deal called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which would have seen Iran scale down its nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.
