US imposes fresh sanctions targeting Iran oil trade, Hezbollah

Khaleej Times

11 hours ago

The US imposed sanctions on Thursday against a network that smuggles Iranian oil disguised as Iraqi oil, and on a Hezbollah-controlled financial institution, the Treasury Department said.
"Treasury will continue to target Tehran's revenue sources and intensify economic pressure to disrupt the regime's access to the financial resources that fuel its destabilising activities,' Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
The US has imposed waves of sanctions on Iran's oil exports over its nuclear programme and funding of militant groups across the Middle East.
Reuters reported late last year that a fuel oil smuggling network that generates at least $1 billion a year for Iran and its proxies has flourished in Iraq since 2022.
Thursday's sanctions came after the US carried out strikes on June 22 on three Iranian nuclear sites, including its most deeply buried enrichment plant Fordow. The Pentagon said on Wednesday the strikes had degraded Iran's nuclear programme by up to two years, despite a far more cautious initial assessment that had leaked to the public.
The US and Iran are expected to hold talks about its nuclear programme next week in Oslo, Axios reported.
The sanctions block US assets of those designated and prevent Americans from doing business with them.
The Treasury Department also issued sanctions against several senior officials and one entity associated with the Hezbollah-controlled financial institution Al-Qard Al-Hassan.
The officials, the department said, conducted millions of dollars in transactions that ultimately benefited, but obscured, Hezbollah.