File photo: A gas flare on an oil production platform is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf. Reuters
The measures target 14 vessels accused by Washington of transporting Iranian oil, as well as 15 entities and two individuals.
The US State Department said it would block transactions involving the ships, which are flagged in countries including Turkey, India and the United Arab Emirates.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott claimed Iran uses oil revenues to “fund destabilizing activities around the world and step up its repression inside Iran,” repeating long-standing US accusations that Tehran rejects.
Pigott said President Donald Trump remained committed to reducing Iran’s oil and petrochemical exports under what Washington calls its “maximum pressure” campaign — a policy that has sought since Trump’s first term to cut off Iran’s oil sales entirely.
The sanctions announcement came shortly after Iran’s foreign minister held indirect talks in Muscat with senior US envoys, mediated by Oman. Tehran described the atmosphere of the discussions as positive, despite heightened tensions.
The United States, its European allies, and Israel, without conclusive evidence, accuse Iran of pursuing nuclear weapons, a claim Tehran strongly denies, insisting its programme is for peaceful purposes only.
The talks also unfolded against the backdrop of an expanded US military presence in the region, including the deployment of a naval strike group led by the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln in nearby waters, a move Iran has warned risks further destabilising the situation.
Trump has repeatedly hinted at the possible use of force against Iran, saying Washington has “many options at its disposal, aside from diplomacy.” Tehran, for its part, says it remains open to dialogue but is prepared for any outcome, stressing that it enters negotiations “with open eyes and a steady memory of the past year,” engaging “in good faith” while standing firm on its rights.
*This story was edited by Ahram Online.
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