Latest news with #Iran-based
Mint
a day ago
- Business
- Mint
Alleged Iran Money Laundering Network Hit With US Sanctions
The US imposed sanctions on a network of individuals and companies it accuses of laundering billions of dollars from illegal activities for the Iranian government, as the Trump administration continues its 'maximum pressure' campaign against Tehran. The Treasury Department said the penalties target more than 30 individuals, as well as 16 companies based in Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates. 'Iran's shadow banking system is a critical lifeline for the regime through which it accesses the proceeds from its oil sales, moves money, and funds its destabilizing activities,' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. The Treasury announcement names Iran's Zarringhalam brothers — Mansour, Nasser, and Fazlolah — as facilitators behind the network that gives sanctioned Iranian individuals and organizations access to the international financial system. It allegedly operates as a parallel banking system, where Iran-based exchange houses broker settlements through front companies in Hong Kong and the UAE. 'The United States will continue to deny Iran access to financial networks and the global banking system as long as Iran continues its destabilizing activities,' the State Department said in a separate statement on the sanctions. The Trump administration has imposed several rounds of sanctions on Iran even as negotiations for a nuclear deal continue. Tensions are mounting ahead of a still-unscheduled next round of talks, with President Donald Trump declaring the US won't allow Iran to pursue uranium enrichment, and Tehran slamming a US nuclear deal proposal for being ambiguous. At a briefing on Thursday, a State Department spokesperson encouraged Iran to agree with the proposal. 'It is in their best interest to accept it,' said principal deputy spokesperson Tommy Pigott. 'We've also been clear, again and again and again, that the Iranian regime can never have a nuclear weapon.' This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
Epoch Times
15-05-2025
- Business
- Epoch Times
US Sanctions Iranian, Chinese Entities Involved in Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles Development
The U.S. Treasury Department on May 14 sanctioned six persons and 12 entities for their involvement in the Iranian regime's missile program, including groups that are needed by Iran to build its own intercontinental ballistic missiles. 'The United States cannot allow Iran to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles,' Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent The May 14 sanctions are pursuant to a February presidential memo that President Donald Trump has said he wants a nuclear deal with Iran that will ensure it cannot develop nuclear weapons. Iran 'must stop sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars, and permanently and verifiably cease pursuit of nuclear weapons,' Trump said at a Gulf Cooperation Council meeting on May 14, during his three-day trip to the Middle East. 'They cannot have a nuclear weapon.' The United States and Iran agreed to additional negotiations after a Carbon Fiber Materials The 18 individuals and groups sanctioned on May 14 support the IRGC's development of carbon fiber materials needed to manufacture intercontinental ballistic missiles. Related Stories 5/13/2025 5/13/2025 According to the Treasury Department, the newly sanctioned Chinese entities have been supplying carbon fiber and precursors to Iranian groups since the beginning of 2024. Intercontinental ballistic missiles are long-range missiles, categorized as more than 3,500 miles, making them capable of targeting any destination in the world. Iran-based Advanced Fiber Development Company and board member Mohammad Rezai were sanctioned for their work supplying carbon fiber to the IRGC. Both have ties to entities that have already been sanctioned for providing support to the IRGC. Iranian company Sarmand Sazeh and China-based Shanghai Tanchain New Material Technology Co., along with three Chinese executives, were sanctioned for shipping carbon fiber to sanctioned Iranian entities. Five Chinese materials companies with ties to Shanghai Tanchain were also sanctioned, including one that exported missile-applicable aramid fibers to Iranian groups. A separate Chinese company, Qingdao Premier Technology Co., was also sanctioned for sending multiple shipments to the IRGC. Iran has seen In addition to sanctions that deal directly with Iran's missile efforts, many target the networks that enable the sale of Iranian oil to China—the world's largest buyer of Iranian oil. The sanctions aim at cutting off funding to Iranian regime-backed terrorist activities.
NDTV
02-05-2025
- Business
- NDTV
"Economic Terrorism": Iran Slams Fresh US Sanctions
Tehran: Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei has strongly condemned fresh US sanctions on individuals and entities in Iran and other countries on the pretext of cooperating with Tehran in different areas, calling them a clear sign of US attempts at "economic terrorism". The sanctions imposed over the past few days were a clear sign of US policymakers' insistence on law-breaking and violation of other countries' rights and interests, as well as their bids to disrupt friendly and legal relations among developing states through economic terrorism, Baghaei said on Thursday in a statement. They are "another conspicuous proof of the US decision makers' contradictory approach and lack of goodwill and seriousness in advancing the path of diplomacy," he added. Baghaei was reacting to sanctions imposed by the US Treasury Department and State Department on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively, on six Iran-based individuals and 13 entities in Iran and other countries for their alleged involvement in trading Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals and procurement of ballistic missile propellant ingredients on behalf of the Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, Xinhua news agency reported. The US said on Wednesday it was imposing sanctions on five companies based outside Iran involved in selling Iranian oil. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio 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." The move came ahead of a fourth round of Iran-US talks on Saturday in Rome, where Tehran is seeking relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear programme. Since returning to office in January, US President Donald Trump has reinstated a campaign of "maximum pressure" on Iran, mirroring his approach during his first term, while also calling for dialogue. In March, he sent a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has the final say in major state policies, urging talks and warning of possible military action if Iran refused. During his first term, Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers and reimposed biting sanctions, prompting the Islamic Republic to roll back its commitments. It came as the fourth round of the Omani-mediated indirect talks between Iran and the US, which was originally scheduled for Saturday in Rome, has been postponed.
The National
30-04-2025
- Business
- The National
US announces sanctions on companies involved in trading Iranian oil
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.
Shafaq News
29-04-2025
- Business
- Shafaq News
Iran, China entities hit with US sanctions over missile fuel
Shafaq News/ On Tuesday, the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed sanctions on six entities and six individuals in Iran and China, accusing them of managing a network supplying missile fuel components to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The network allegedly facilitated the transfer of materials, including sodium perchlorate and dioctyl sebacate, from China to Iran, substances used in the production of ballistic missile engines, according to a Treasury statement. Sanctioned parties include Iran-based Samen Tejarat Barman Company, its leadership and partners, as well as Chinese firms such as Shenzhen Amor Logistics. The measures were taken under Executive Order 13382, which targets proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their supporters. Under the sanctions, all assets of the designated individuals and entities within US jurisdiction are frozen, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them without a specific license.
