The Treasury Department on Wednesday announced additional action targeting vessels in Iran's "shadow fleet" that officials said have collectively transported "hundreds of millions of dollars' worth" of petroleum and petrochemical products to foreign countries.
"Instead of allocating this revenue for the benefit of the Iranian people, the regime ultimately siphons it off to fund regional terrorist proxies, weapons programs, and repressive security services, rather than the basic economic needs the Iranian people have repeatedly and courageously demanded," the department stated.
The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control also levied sanctions on nine people and companies based in Iran, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates that it accuses of helping the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and Iranian defense ministry obtain precursor chemicals and sensitive machinery for their weapons programs.
"Under President Trump's strong leadership, Treasury will continue to put maximum pressure on Iran to target the regime's weapons capabilities and support for terrorism, which it has prioritized over the lives of the Iranian people," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.
The fresh batch of sanctions comes as U.S. officials, including special envoy Steve Witkoff, are set to hold another round of Oman-mediated talks with Iranian officials Thursday in Geneva.
The Trump administration is insisting that Iran cannot be allowed to enrich uranium or possess a nuclear weapon, something the Iranians have been unwilling to agree to.
Trump, who has boosted military firepower in the region amid warnings of severe consequences if diplomatic talks fail, said during his State of the Union address on Tuesday that the U.S. was still waiting to hear "those secret words" from Iran.
"After Midnight Hammer, they were warned to make no future attempts to rebuild their weapons program, and in particular nuclear weapons, yet they continue. They're starting it all over. We wiped it out and they want to start it all over again and are at this moment again pursuing their sinister ambitions," he said.
"We are in negotiations with them. They want to make a deal, but we haven't heard those secret words: 'We will never have a nuclear weapon,'" the president added.
Trump also alleged that Tehran had already developed missiles that threaten European countries and American bases overseas and was working to build ones capable of reaching the U.S., a claim the Iranian foreign minister rejected Wednesday.
Vice President Vance on Wednesday said the U.S. is seeking a diplomatic deal with Iran, but that Trump has the sole authority on whether the U.S. will strike the Middle Eastern country.
"The president has been crystal clear as he could be," Vance told Fox News's Bill Hemmer on "America's Newsroom." "Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon."
Trump is "going to try to accomplish it diplomatically but, as we all know, Bill, the president has a number of other tools at his disposal to ensure this doesn't happen," Vance added. "He's shown a willingness to use them, and I hope the Iranians take it seriously in the negotiations tomorrow because that's certainly what the president prefers."
Read the full report at thehill.com.
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