(FiveNation.com)- In an effort to increase pressure amid a standstill in talks to revive the nuclear agreement, the United States on Thursday announced penalties on Iranian petrochemical companies as well as Chinese and Indian brokers.
Biden’s administration stated that it remained dedicated to negotiating with Iran to reestablish a 2015 deal on limiting its nuclear development.
According to Brian Nelson, a senior Treasury Department official, in the absence of an agreement, they would continue to exercise sanctions to block shipments of petroleum, petroleum products, and petrochemical goods from Iran.
The Treasury Department announced that it was imposing sanctions on a network of Iranian petrochemical companies, including Triliance, a Hong Kong-based company already subject to US sanctions due to its dealings with Iran, and alleged front companies for Iran’s state-owned company in China and the United Arab Emirates.
Additionally, it filed legal action against Indian citizen Mohammad Shaheed Ruknooddin Bhore and broker Jeff Gao, headquartered in China, for allegedly running Triliance’s company.
Since then-President Donald Trump walked away from a negotiated agreement in which Iran dramatically reduced its nuclear program in exchange for promises of sanctions relief, the United States has worked to stop any country from purchasing Iranian oil.
While India grudgingly stopped importing Iranian oil under US pressure, China has continued to be the country’s primary customer.
According to Biden, the United States would lift sanctions if Iran resumed compliance with the terms of the nuclear agreement. However, his senior negotiator recently stated that it is more likely than not that the negotiations will fail.
Iran has demanded that the United States reverse a designation made by the Trump administration designating its formidable Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group. Biden has rejected this demand, arguing that it is not relevant to negotiations around the nuclear deal.
According to former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, the choice by the Biden administration to abandon the Abraham Accords and return to the Iran nuclear deal increased American energy costs and made life worse for every American.
While the Biden administration seeks to appease Iran, the Iranians might close down the Strait of Hormuz and raise energy prices even more.
