The United States announced new economic sanctions on Iran and countries that trade with the company in an attempt to apply more pressure.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the move an “economic asphyxiantion” of Iran as the unauthorized U.S. – Israeli war against the country enters its six-month mark.
“Around the globe, our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone,” Bessent said.
The new sanctions are imposed on 60 entities and individuals that the White House has accused of helping Iran generate oil revenue, get weapons, and conduct cyberoperations.
Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh of Iran has said the sanctions will fail.
“US sanctions against us are not new. We have programmes to counter American sanctions, and Washington cannot achieve its goals by severing the arteries of our economy,” according to the Fars News Agency.
The broader sanctions campaign focuses on five sectors that U.S. officials say help sustain Iran’s economy: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping.
The individuals and entities targeted are based across the Middle East, China, Singapore and Europe. The Treasury Department said one of the primary targets is a procurement network of more than 20 people and entities across the Middle East and East Asia accused of helping Iran acquire sensitive technology for nuclear research and ballistic missile development.
“The network has enabled Iran to obtain highly sensitive dual‑use technology through a sprawling system of front companies, covert financial channels, and logistics intermediaries across East Asia, allowing sanctioned Iranian military institutions to disguise end users and evade global export controls,” the US Treasury said in a statement.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, researcher Ali Akbar Dareini of Tehran, said that the sanctions will have little effect on Iran.
“[Iran] has a PhD in circumventing sanctions, so Iran is absolutely sure that it will emerge victorious and the US once again will fail in its efforts to suffocate Iran,” Dareini said.
