WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday (Apr 30) imposed sanctions on entities it accused of being involved in the illicit trade of Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals ahead of a new round of US-Iran negotiations on Saturday, as Washington seeks to ramp up pressure on Tehran.
The US State Department said in a statement it was imposing sanctions on seven entities based in the United Arab Emirates, Türkiye and Iran that it accused of trading Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products. Two vessels were also targeted.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a separate statement that the action targeted four sellers and one buyer of Iranian petrochemicals worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
Wednesday’s action is the latest move targeting Tehran since Trump restored his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran, which includes efforts to drive its oil exports to zero and help prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear weapon.
