ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Saturday condemned new United States sanctions targeting the country’s alleged “shadow banking” network and oil trade.
"The new US sanctions against Iran, imposed within the framework of the inhumane and failed policy of maximum pressure against the Iranian people, are illegal and violate international legal principles and standards, and are further evidence of the deep and ongoing hostility of the US ruling regime towards the Iranian people," said Esmail Baghei, Foreign Ministry spokesperson.
The US on Friday announced new sanctions on more than 35 individuals and entities linked to Iran’s “shadow banking” and oil smuggling networks.
“This network has laundered billions of dollars through Iranian exchange houses and foreign front companies to sustain Tehran’s campaigns of terror that undermine international peace and security and line the pockets of regime elites,” said the Department of State.
Washington has continued to impose new sanctions on Iran while it is engaged in talks with Tehran about its nuclear program and sanctions relief.
The indirect, Oman-mediated negotiations began in April. A key roadblock in the revived talks is the issue of uranium enrichment. While US negotiators are pushing for zero enrichment, Tehran maintains that this is a nonstarter.
The talks mark the most significant engagement since 2018, when US President Donald Trump, during his first term in office, withdrew Washington from the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran. Under that deal, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief. Following the US withdrawal and reimposition of sweeping sanctions, Tehran gradually reduced its compliance.
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