US Ramps Up Iran Sanctions as Hope for Talks Fade

Sanctions target Chinese, Indian facilitators for trade

With Iran nuclear talks stalled, the US Treasury Department is once again announcing a new round of sanctions targeting Iran’s oil and gas industry.

The sanctions hit three Iranian companies, but focused on a company called Triliance Petrochemical, which was reportedly, with the help of other companies, facilitating Iranian sales in East Asia.

Six companies, two from Hong Kong and four from the UAE, were sanctioned for working with Triliance, and two of their brokers, Jingfeng Gao and Mohammed Shaheed Ruknoddin Bhore, were singled out for sanctions for trade with China and India, respectively.

US officials say they remain committed to diplomacy with Iran, despite all indications that they aren’t engaging at all anymore, but say that absent a deal they will continue to impose more and more sanctions against Iran, and especially its oil trade.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.