Where It Hurts: U.S. Imposes New Sanctions on Iranian Oil

The United States Treasury Secretary announced a series of new sanctions to be imposed on the Iranian economy. This time the sanctions are aimed directly at the Iranian oil industry in all its layers.

Scott Bessent, the United States Treasury Secretary, announced a repository of new sanctions to be imposed on Iran. According to Bessent, the Treasury Department collaborated with the Pentagon, and together they identified a series of critical targets for the Iranian industry.

Bessent announced that: "The Treasury Department has imposed comprehensive sanctions as part of the maximum pressure campaign. We are now targeting the entire Iranian oil industry supply chain. All the way from exploration, mining, sales, and supply."

Until now, the United States has relatively avoided directly targeting the Iranian oil industry, and instead focused on oil smuggling and sales on the black market. Now the Americans are aiming to systematically damage the oil industry.

In the past, it was reported that there were concerns among Biden administration officials that damaging Iranian oil could trigger an international price increase. But now under the Trump administration, this concern seems to have subsided.

These efforts are part and parcel of President Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign against Iran to force it to agree to a deal to give up its nuclear weapons programs and dismantle other weapons programs used to assist terrorists.