Iran chastises new US sanctions as ‘unjustified’
Iran’s Foreign Ministry’s spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei strongly condemned the US new sanctions against Iran, calling them “unjustified” and “contrary to international rules.”
Baqaei made the remarks after the US Department of the Treasury on Thursday announced financial bans on an international network “facilitating the shipment of millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars” to China.
The department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned more than a dozen people and companies in China, India and the United Arab Emirates. The targets include Iranian and Indian citizens, crew management firms and a collection of ships.
They were the first US sanctions on Iran’s oil after US President Donald Trump this week vowed to bring Iran’s crude exports to zero.
Treasury said it imposed blocking sanctions on the Panama-flagged CH Billion tanker and the Hong Kong-flagged Star Forest tanker for their role in shipping Iranian oil to China.
The US said the tankers “onboarded” Iranian crude from storage in China as part of a scheme involving Iran’s military, which stands to profit from the sale of the oil.
The sanctions block access of the individuals and entities to any of their assets in the United States and prohibit US foreign assistance.
“The decision of the new US government to exert pressure on the Iranian nation by preventing Iran’s legal trade with its economic partners is an illegitimate, illegal and violative measure,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry’s spokesman said in a statement.
The sanctions came after Trump reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy against Iran over allegations the country is seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
Iran insists its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes and denies any intention to develop atomic weapons.
Iran has slammed the reinstatement of the policy – similar to one Trump levied against Tehran during his first term as president – saying pursuing it would end in “failure.”
Oil prices rose in early trading after the new US sanctions against Iran.
Brent crude was up 0.9% at $75 a barrel, while WTI added 0.8% to $71.18 a barrel. The sanctions target entities and individuals in China, India and the UAE, as well as several vessels, according to the Treasury Department.
Still, crude prices are headed for weekly losses after days of volatile trading, with demand concerns in focus amid a bigger-than-expected rise in US crude stockpiles, Trump’s tariffs on China and push for increased domestic production.