Latest news with #IranSanctions

Wall Street Journal
2 days ago
- Business
- Wall Street Journal
An Iran Sanctions Pause Dies a Quiet Death
It's remarkable what a little sunlight can do. On Monday these pages reported that White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, working with the new National Security Council, had instructed the Treasury and State Departments to pause all new sanctions activity against Iran. The news didn't go over well with President Trump, and by Tuesday we heard the pause had been lifted. On Friday the Administration confirmed it by issuing new Iran sanctions, the first since May 21. Treasury designated 10 individuals and 27 entities from Iran, China, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates that it says were involved in a shadow-banking network laundering billions of dollars for the Iranian regime. Pressure, which Iran will need to feel for the U.S. to secure a deal worth making, is back.


Asharq Al-Awsat
2 days ago
- Business
- Asharq Al-Awsat
US Issues New Round of Iran-Related Sanctions
The US has issued a new round of Iran-related sanctions targeting 10 individuals and 27 entities, including at least two companies it said were linked to Iran's national tanker company, the US Treasury Department said on Friday. The sanctions, which target Iranian nationals and some entities in the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong, were announced as US President Donald Trump's administration is working to get a new nuclear deal with Tehran. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control added Ace Petrochem FZE, and Moderate General Trading LLC to its Specially Designated Nationals List, freezing any of their US assets. OFAC said they are both linked to the state-owned National Iranian Tanker Company which is under US sanctions for exporting oil. Talks between Iran and the US that aim to resolve a decades-long dispute over Tehran's nuclear ambitions have been stuck over disagreements about uranium enrichment. Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Business
- Al Arabiya
Trump administration issues new Iran-related sanctions amid stalled nuclear deal talks
The US has unveiled new Iran-related sanctions amid uncertainty over nuclear deal talks, according to a Treasury Department notice. The latest round of sanctions designated 10 individuals and 27 entities. The sanctions, which also target some entities in the UAE and Hong Kong, come as US President Donald Trump's administration is working to get a new nuclear deal with Tehran.


Fox News
08-05-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Trump targets Iranian oil with sanctions, increasing pressure on Islamic Republic to make deal on nukes
The Trump administration on Thursday targeted Iranian oil with a new slate of sanctions – a move that increases pressure on the Islamic Republic amid talks between U.S. and Iranian officials to make a deal to prevent nuclear proliferation, Fox News Digital has learned. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control increased pressure on Iran's export of oil Thursday, designating the "teapot" refinery Hebei Xinhai Chemical Group Co., Ltd., and three port terminal operators in Shandong province, China, for their role in purchasing or facilitating the delivery of hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of Iranian oil. The "teapot" refineries purchase the majority of Iranian crude oil exports, according to the Treasury Department. The Treasury Department on Thursday is also imposing sanctions on several companies, vessels and captains they say are responsible for facilitating Iranian oil shipments as part of Iran's so-called "shadow fleet." The companies and vessels are all China-based. "As part of President Trump's broad and aggressive maximum pressure campaign, Treasury today is targeting another teapot refinery that imported Iranian oil," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. "The United States remains resolved to intensify pressure on all elements of Iran's oil supply chain to prevent the regime from generating revenue to further its destabilizing agenda." The sanctions come following President Donald Trump's executive order, which targets Iran's petroleum and petrochemical sectors – as well as another executive order targeting those that provide support to the National Iranian Oil Company. Thursday's sanctions are the latest round targeting Iranian oil sales since the president, in early February, issued a national security memorandum that instituted a campaign of "maximum economic pressure on Iran." As for Iran's "shadow fleet," Tehran relies on obscure ship management companies to manage its fleet of tankers that "mask" Iran's petroleum shipments to China using ship-to-ship transfers with sanctioned vessels. The Treasury Department on Thursday took action to increase pressure on that "shadow fleet" of actors by designating ships as "blocked property." Any violation of U.S. sanctions may result in the imposition of civil or criminal penalties on U.S. or foreign persons, the Treasury Department said. The imposition of sanctions comes as the United States and Iran prepare for a fourth round of nuclear talks. U.S. and Iranian officials are set for the next round of talks to take place in Oman in the coming days. Trump is scheduled to travel to the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Vice President JD Vance recently previewed the next round of talks, saying Wednesday the U.S. was negotiating toward a "complete cessation" of Tehran's nuclear program. The Trump administration has said the flawed 2015 Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear feal, did not prevent Iran from building an atomic bomb, with Vance adding that the agreement had "incredibly weak" enforcement regarding inspections. Vance said he didn't believe it "actually served the function of preventing the Iranians from getting on the pathway to nuclear weapons." Vance also said the Trump administration believes that there were some elements of the Iranian nuclear program that were actually "preserved" under the JCPOA. "Yes, there weren't nuclear weapons. Iran doesn't have a nuclear weapon," Vance said, arguing the deal "allowed Iran to sort of stay on this glide path toward a nuclear weapon if they flip the switch and press go." "We think that there is a deal here that would reintegrate Iran into the global economy," Vance said ahead of the talks. "That would be really good for the Iranian people, but would result in the complete cessation of any chance that they can get a nuclear weapon. And that's what we're negotiating toward. And as the president has said, that's Option A." If Option A is "very good for the Iranian people," Vance said, then Option B "is very bad." "It's very bad for everybody," Vance said. "And it's not what we want, but it's better than Option C, which is Iran getting a nuclear weapon. That is what is completely off the table for the American administration. No ifs, ands or buts." As for Trump, he said during a recent interview on NBC's "Meet the Press" that he would only accept "total dismantlement" of Iran's nuclear program.