New U.S. Oil Sanctions Against Iran's Government Aimed at Maximum Pressure

On Monday, March 6, the U.S. Department of State announced in a statement the sanctioning of 16 entities and vessels active in the oil and petrochemical industry of the Islamic Republic of Iran as part of the maximum pressure campaign. Simultaneously, the Department of State and the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned a total of 22 individuals and declared 13 vessels as blocked assets. According to the U.S. diplomatic statement, this network of facilitators for illegal shipping attempts to conceal its role in loading and transporting Iranian oil to buyers in Asia. The statement adds that this network has so far transferred tens of millions of barrels of crude oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Asian markets. The U.S. Department of State further stated that Monday's sanctions are 'an initial step' towards realizing Donald Trump's maximum pressure campaign against the Iranian government, aiming to disrupt the Islamic Republic's efforts to collect oil revenues to finance terrorist activities. At the end of this statement, the U.S. diplomatic apparatus emphasized the continuation of actions aimed at disrupting these illegal financial flows that support the malicious activities of the Iranian government, adding that as long as the Islamic Republic uses its energy sector revenues to finance attacks against U.S. allies, support terrorism, and pursue destabilizing activities, Washington will use all its tools to hold Tehran accountable. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Busent recently stated that the United States intends to reduce the Islamic Republic's oil exports to 100,000 barrels per day through the implementation of the 'maximum pressure' policy. In an interview with Fox Business, he mentioned that the 'Iranian regime' currently exports between 1.5 million to 1.6 million barrels of oil daily, financing 'these terrorist activities worldwide' through this means. Details of the return of maximum pressure on the Islamic Republic include the U.S. sanctioning the international network for transferring Iranian oil to China, the Islamic Republic seeking help from OPEC to escape U.S. 'maximum pressure,' and proposals to prevent the sale of U.S. oil reserves to the Islamic Republic.