US puts sanctions on fleet involved in Iran’s oil exports

The US Department of Treasury said in a statement on Tuesday that it had targeted 35 entities and vessels that transported Iranian petroleum to foreign markets.

The Treasury, which had announced similar sanctions on October 11, added the new sanctions are a response to Iran’s missile attack on Israel in early October and the country’s recent decision to increase its nuclear enrichment capacity.

Iran carried out attacks on Israel on October 1 in response to the regime’s assassination of a senior Palestinian resistance leader in Tehran and its genocidal wars in the Gaza Strip.

Tehran also announced last month that it would expand its nuclear enrichment activity after the United Nations atomic watchdog’s board of governors adopted a resolution against the country.

The new US sanctions targeting Iran’s oil export capacities come amid increasing Iranian oil sales to Asian markets and despite an already-existing regime of US sanctions that impose heavy penalties on buyers of Iranian oil.

Figures published by international tanker tracking services show that Iran has been selling an average of more than 1.5 million barrels per day of oil in the past months.

That has provided the country with the funds it needs to expand its economic infrastructure, including projects it has launched to develop its vast petroleum sector.

The US Treasury claimed in its Tuesday statement that Iran was funneling revenues from its petroleum trade toward the development of its nuclear, ballistic missile, and unmanned aerial vehicle programs.