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Summary The US has slapped additional sanctions on over 50 Iranian entities and people.
.The Treasury and State Department said the actions target more than 50 entities tied to Irans procurement, petroleum and shipping networks.Today, the US is imposing additional sanctions on Irans nuclear and ballistic missile proliferation networks, and is also taking additional steps to prevent the evasion of sanctions by publicly identifying a group of Iranian front companies and banks, the State Department said.These actions are part of the United States governments dual-track approach of increasing pressure to convince Iran to engage seriously and address the international communitys concerns about its nuclear programme.Todays actions are the next step on that path, taking direct aim at disrupting Irans nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, as well as its deceptive efforts to use front companies to sell and move its oil, David S Cohen, the undersecretary of the Treasury for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.The Obama administration also identified a web of front companies that it says the Iranian government uses to try to evade American and European restrictions on its oil exports.Among the companies designated by the Treasury are Electronic Components Industries and Information Systems Iran, which are subsidiaries of an entity that is, in turn, controlled by the Iranian Ministry of Defence.Also on the blacklist are four men — three Iranians and an Austrian — that the Treasury Department said support Irans nuclear and missile programmes.Under the sanctions, Americans are barred from doing business with these individuals, and any assets they have under American jurisdictions are frozen.The administration also identified energy-trading firms based in Switzerland, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Dubai that it said are either owned or controlled by or that carry out transactions on behalf of Irans national oil company.It updated the identification of 57 ships affiliated with the Iranian national shipping line that had been renamed to evade sanctions. And it identified 58 vessels operated by the National Iranian Tanker Company.Iran has been subject to severe international economic sanctions over its controversial nuclear program, which Western powers believe masks an atomic weapons drive despite repeated denials by Tehran.
