![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1772043189_411_2017-06-08T131939Z_1189275883_RC11B0FE7F20_RTRMADP_3_GULF-QATAR-JAZEERA-1714943623.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nPublished On 25 Feb 202625 Feb 2026<\/p>\n
Click here to share on social media<\/p>\n
share2<\/p>\n
plus2googleAdd Al Jazeera on Googleinfo<\/p>\n
The United States has issued a new wave of sanctions against Iran, targeting ships that it said are selling Iranian oil to help fund the country\u2019s ballistic missile programme.<\/p>\n
The penalties on Wednesday come a day after President Donald Trump renewed his threats <\/a>against Iran in his State of the Union address.<\/p>\n Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list<\/p>\n \u201cIran exploits financial systems to sell illicit oil, launder the proceeds, procure components for its nuclear and conventional weapons programs, and support its terrorist proxies,\u201d Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cUnder President Trump\u2019s strong leadership, Treasury will continue to put maximum pressure on Iran to target the regime\u2019s weapons capabilities and support for terrorism, which it has prioritised over the lives of the Iranian people.\u201d<\/p>\n While the US describes the Iranian oil trade as \u201cillicit\u201d, Iran, which is selling its own petroleum products, describes the crackdown on its energy sector as piracy.<\/p>\n The US has been intensifying sanctions against Iran as it amasses military assets<\/a> \u2013 including two aircraft carriers and large fleets of fighter jets \u2013 in the region in apparent preparation for war.<\/p>\n Wednesday\u2019s penalties targeted 12 vessels, as well as several companies and individuals that the US said are involved in Iran\u2019s oil sales and weapons acquisition.<\/p>\n The new sanctions will freeze targeted assets of the designated firms and individuals in the US and make it mostly illegal for American citizens to engage in financial transactions with them.<\/p>\n Washington has been piling such sanctions on the Iranian economy since Trump nixed the multilateral nuclear deal with Tehran in 2018 during his first term.<\/p>\n That agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saw Iran scale back its nuclear programme in exchange for the release of international sanctions.<\/p>\n After returning to the White House in 2025, Trump reignited his economic maximum pressure campaign against Tehran with the goal of choking off Iran\u2019s oil exports.<\/p>\n Still, the two countries have been engaging in diplomacy to avert the looming conflict.<\/p>\n