US imposes sanctions on Iranian tankers and currency exchange
Photo: US President Donald Trump (Getty Images)
The administration of US President Donald Trump has intensified sanctions pressure on Iran in an effort to push Tehran back to negotiations, Bloomberg reports.
As part of the new sanctions wave, the US Department of the Treasury added more than 50 entities to its blacklist, including oil and gas tankers, as well as an Iranian currency exchange.
In particular, sanctions were imposed on Iran’s Amin Exchange and a network of companies that, according to Washington, helped conduct international transactions worth hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of sanctioned individuals.
Some of these companies were based in China, Hong Kong, and the United Arab Emirates.
In addition, 19 vessels belonging to the so-called shadow fleet, used to transport Iranian oil, were also sanctioned.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington will continue dismantling Tehran’s "shadow banking system" and sanctions-evasion schemes.
"Financial institutions must be alert to how the regime manipulates the international financial system to wreak havoc," Bessent said.
According to Bloomberg, the Trump administration is stepping up sanctions pressure as part of its Economic Fury campaign aimed at restricting Iran’s oil revenues and forcing Tehran into new negotiations.
US–Iran negotiations
Talks between the United States and Iran mediated by third countries have been ongoing for more than a month, but the sides have still failed to reach an agreement on ending hostilities and a new nuclear deal.
According to CNN, Israel fears that US President Donald Trump may strike a compromise deal with Tehran without resolving key security issues that originally triggered the conflict.
At the same time, Western media have reported that Washington is considering the possibility of partially easing oil sanctions on Iran during the negotiations if it helps advance talks on the nuclear program.
