Recent actions by the U.S. State Department and Department of the Treasury have led to the reimposition of tough sanctions on Iran’s oil trade. These sanctions, described as “maximum pressure,” aim to target what is referred to as a clandestine network involved in Iran’s oil trade. This move comes at a time of heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington following the recent change in leadership with President Donald Trump taking office.
A spokesperson named Tammy Bruce highlighted that the State Department has singled out 16 entities and vessels as part of an illicit shipping network that plays a role in the transportation and sale of Iranian oil to Asian buyers. The nature of this network is characterized by its attempts to hide its involvement and mislead authorities.
The joint efforts of the State Department and the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) have resulted in sanctions being imposed on 22 individuals and the identification of 13 vessels as blocked property due to their connections with Iran’s oil sector, encompassing various regions and jurisdictions.
Bruce said those involved in the shadowy network have “shipped tens of millions of barrels of crude oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars.”
After Trump signed an executive order reinstating the campaign earlier this month, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said “maximum pressure is a failed experiment, and trying it again will only lead to another failure.”
The return of the maximum pressure campaign comes as tensions flare in the Middle East between Iran-backed Hamas and Israel, and Tehran’s icy relationship with Washington under the Trump administration.
The U.S. Department of Justice last year charged the Islamic Republic with an assassination attempt against Trump, presumably in retaliation for the military strike that eliminated IRGC General Qassem Soleimani in 2020. Iran’s president, however, denied the claim during an interview with NBC News’ Lester Holt in Tehran.
Iranian officials have also pushed back on all U.S. efforts to curtail its nuclear ambitions.
Fox News Digital’s Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.
