The key facts
- The US Treasury imposed a new package of sanctions on intermediaries helping Iran sell oil
- The restrictions hit the network of Indian businessman Sunil Kumar Sharma and the Turkish company Fugo Ground Services
- Scott Bessent said the sanctions will affect any of Tehran's helpers regardless of their location
Washington expands sanctions pressure on Iran
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Washington will continue sanctions pressure on Tehran and will not limit itself to direct participants in Iran's oil industry. According to him, the restrictions may cover any companies and individuals who help Iran circumvent existing bans and earn revenue from oil sales. «We will continue to impose sanctions on those who support Iran, regardless of where they are located and what they do,» — Life.ru quotes the secretary as saying.
Who was affected by the new restrictions
The latest package of measures targeted the network of Indian businessman Sunil Kumar Sharma and his wife Jaspreet Priti Shahid. According to the US Treasury, structures linked to them prepared fake ship documents and provided false flags to tankers carrying Iranian oil, allowing the vessels to circumvent international restrictions, including when transporting fuel on behalf of the Iranian military. Also sanctioned was the Turkey-registered company Fugo Ground Services, which US authorities accuse of servicing Iran's aviation sector.
The declared scale of pressure
Bessent stressed that the Treasury intends to identify and pursue everyone providing support to Iran — intermediaries, transport companies and other structures helping Tehran circumvent restrictions on land, at sea and in the air. He made it clear that the current restrictions will not be the last: the department will continue to identify organizations and individuals that ensure the flow of Iranian oil revenues and keep the country's aviation industry running. In practical terms, this means that companies from third countries, formally unconnected to Iran but involved in transporting or handling its oil, could come under fire — and it was precisely such structures that became the target of the new package.
Context around the Iran topic
The Life.ru publication also recalls recent statements by the American leader: Donald Trump, according to the outlet, explainedthat Washington does not intend to use nuclear weapons against Iran, since, in his words, the country has been knocked out of action by about 90%. These assessments belong to Trump himself and are cited from the US president's words; the publication contains no independent verification of them.
