US Imposes Sanctions on Seven Iran-Linked Entities Ahead of Nuclear Talks

The United States has imposed new sanctions targeting seven entities and two vessels involved in the illicit trade of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products, with several of the companies based in the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, and Iran. These measures are part of Washington's ongoing 'maximum pressure' campaign against Tehran, aiming to drive Iran's oil exports, including those to China, down to zero and to curtail funding for what the US describes as Iran's destabilizing activities and support for terrorist networks. The sanctioned entities include four sellers and one buyer of Iranian petrochemicals, with transactions valued in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The latest sanctions come just days before a new round of US-Iran nuclear talks, with negotiators set to meet in Rome. This move continues the Trump administration’s approach of reimposing sanctions after withdrawing from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, with Western powers expressing concern over Iran's uranium enrichment activities exceeding previous limits.