Ahead of a new round of talks between Tehran and Washington, the United States sanctioned seven companies in Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey for their involvement in the Iranian regime’s oil and petrochemical trade. Two oil tankers were also included in the latest U.S. sanctions list.
The U.S. State Department announced on Wednesday, April 30: “The Iranian regime continues to fuel conflict in the Middle East, advance its nuclear program, and support its terrorist partners and proxies. Today, the United States is taking action to stem the flow of revenue that the regime uses to fund these destabilizing activities.”
According to the department, four companies selling petrochemical products on behalf of the Iranian regime, one purchasing company, one maritime management firm, and one cargo inspection company were targeted in this new round of U.S. sanctions.
Of these, five companies are based in the UAE, one in Turkey, and one in Iran. The U.S. Department of the Treasury identified the Iranian company as “Keyhan Sanjesh Azma International cargo surveyor/inspection.”
On April 29, the U.S. Treasury also sanctioned six entities and six individuals in Iran and China for their roles in a network that procures materials for ballistic missile fuel on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
This new package of sanctions from Washington comes as senior officials from both countries have already held three rounds of nuclear talks in Muscat and Rome. The next round is scheduled to be held again in Rome.
Two Oil Tankers Added to U.S. Sanctions List
In its April 30 statement, the U.S. State Department announced the sanctioning of two oil tankers, ELOISE and OLIA, for their involvement in the Iranian regime’s oil trade. The OLIA tanker had previously been sanctioned for its role in helping circumvent sanctions against Russia.
The U.S. State Department’s statement added: “Iran’s energy exports are enabled by a network of such illicit shipping facilitators in multiple jurisdictions who, through obfuscation and deception, load and transport Iranian petroleum products for sale to buyers in Asia.”
Under the new sanctions, all assets and interests of the designated individuals and entities that are within the United States or held by U.S. persons—whether individuals or companies—are frozen and must be reported to the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
U.S. Slaps New Sanctions on Tehran’s Missile Fuel Supply Network
On February 5, 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive directive to resume the “maximum pressure” campaign against the Iranian regime and bring its oil exports down to zero, aiming to pressure Tehran into halting its nuclear program.
