On Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department issued new sanctions against over 115 Iran linked individuals, entities, and vessels. This is an indication that the Trump administration has intensified its "maximum-pressure" campaign following June's bombing of Tehran's nuclear sites.

The sanctions are aimed at the interests of Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani. He is the son of Ali Shamkhani who was himself a Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khmenei's adviser. The U.S. Treasury said the move was the most significant Iran sanctions action since 2018, when President Donald Trump was in his first term.

Treasury claims that Shamkhani is in control of a vast container ship and tanker network through a web of complex intermediaries who sell Iranian oil and Russian goods around the globe.

Treasury accused Shamkhani using personal connections and Tehran corruption to generate tens billions of dollar profits. A large portion of these profits is used to prop-up the Iranian regime.

The new sanctions are aimed at 15 shipping companies, 52 vessels and 12 individuals, as well as 53 entities, who have been involved in sanction evasion across 17 countries, from Panama to Italy, Hong Kong to Hong Kong.

The U.S. official stated that the new measure would make it "much harder" for Iran's oil to be sold, but also added that the administration does not expect any sustained disruptions to the global oil markets.

After the administration implemented several smaller sanctions against Iran's oil industry, the official stated that Iran's exports of oil had already dropped to around 1.2m barrels per day from 1.8m bpd in the beginning of the year.

The official stated that "we're still taking further action" to reduce that number even more. He noted that the sanctions pressure applied during Trump's initial term had reduced Iran oil flow to just a few hundred thousands bpd.

The UN mission of Iran did not respond immediately to a comment request.

China is the largest buyer of Iranian oil

Shamkhani was sanctioned by the European Union in early July for his involvement in the Russian oil industry.

Officials in the United States have said that while Wednesday's actions would affect both Russia and Iran they are focusing on Iran.

The official stated that "from our perspective, given this individual's position, his relationship to the Supreme leader and his father's prior sanctions activities, and given the Iran-related authority, it is critically important to stress that this Iran action is meaningful and extremely impactful."

In 2020, the United States sanctioned Ali Shamkhani (the father of Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani).

After the U.S. attack on Iranian nuclear sites, the prospects of renewed U.S. diplomacy with Iran remained dim.

Trump warned Monday that he will order new U.S. strikes if Iran tries to restart nuclear sites which the U.S. has already attacked.

He told reporters that Iran was sending "nasty" signals and any attempt to restart its nuclear programme would be immediately stopped.

The United States has held five rounds of

Talks with Iran

Before it's

Airstrikes on June

Trump claimed that the program was "obliterated", which Washington and Israel claim is intended to develop a nuclear weapon.

Some experts have questioned whether the damage is as severe as they claim. Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon.

Last week, a senior White House official stated that Washington is open to direct communication with Iran. European and Iranian diplomats say there are few prospects for Iran to reengage with the U.S. in a negotiating session. (Reporting and editing by Nick Zieminski, Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols)

(source: Reuters)