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WASHINGTON: The Trump administration imposed sweeping economic sanctions against Iran’s oil sector on Monday as tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to escalate in the days leading up to the US presidential election.
The treasury department announced sanctions on Iran’s ministry of petroleum, the National Iranian Oil Co and its oil-tanker subsidiary for providing financial support to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the elite military unit that is designated as a terrorist group by the US.
The department also penalised multiple front companies, subsidiaries and executives affiliated with those organisations, including Iran’s petroleum minister, Bijan N Zanganeh. Four people involved in selling Iranian gasoline to the Maduro government in Venezuela were also named. Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said Iran “uses the petroleum sector to fund destabilising activities” of Revolutionary Guards, adding that Iranian leaders continue “to prioritise support for terrorist entities”.
A spokesman for Iran’s mission to UN denounced the move. “US’s hostility towards Iranian people has no limit,” Alireza Miryousefi said
Source From : Times Of India
