April 30 (UPI) — The United States has imposed another round of sanctions targeting Iran, seeking to stem its petrochemical profits amid ongoing nuclear talks between the two countries.
The State Department announced the sanctions Wednesday against seven firms and two shipping vessels accused of engaging in the trade of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products.
Those sanctioned include four United Arab Emirates-based exporters — Solvent Organics, Alseeraf Trading, Harold Trading and Shivnani Organics — a Turkey-based importer, Kimpas Kimyevi Maddeler Pazarlama Ticaret Ve SanayII Anonim Sirketi; and Iran-based cargo surveyor Keyhan Sanjesh Azma.
Vroom Marine Venture, a UAE-based commercial manager of tankers, was also sanctioned and its vessels Eloise and Olia were designated as blocked property.
“So long as Iran attempts to generate oil and petrochemical revenues to fund its destabilizing 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.
According to the State Department, all four exporters have been accused of dealing in millions of dollars worth of Iran-origin energy shipments with two companies — Harold Trading and Shivnani Organics — also accused of doing so involving previously sanctioned companies.
Kimpas is accused of importing more than $15 million worth of shipments of Iran-origin petrochemical products from several U.S.-designated companies.
Keyhan is accused of loading tankers working with U.S.-designated Triliance Petrochemical to evade sanctions.
Vroom’s two vessels designated Wednesday are accused of transporting multiple shipments of Iranian petroleum products.
The sanctions are the latest round imposed by the administration of President Donald Trump on Iran since February, when he reimposed his so-called maximum pressure campaign on Tehran to coerce the Middle Eastern country to forge a new nuclear weapons deal.
During his first administration, Trump slapped sanctions on Iran and unilaterally pulled the United States from an Obama-era multinational nuclear accord aimed at preventing Iran from securing nuclear weapons.
Trump applied his maximum pressure campaign in hopes of coercing the Middle Eastern country to return to the negotiating table to work out a deal he thought would be better than the original.
Instead, Iran escalated its nuclear program to the point where it could have enough enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb in as little as a week’s time.
However, the sanctions come as talks between the two countries are ongoing in Oman with another round of negotiations set for Saturday.
Iran and the E3 nations of Britain, France and Germany — members of the Obama-era accord — are scheduled for Rome on Friday.
Wednesday’s punitive measures come a day after the United States sanctioned six individuals and six entities in Iran and China accused of being a ballistic missile propellant ingredient network for Tehran.
