U.S. imposes new sanctions on Iran

According to the report, the new sanctions target Iran’s alternative routes for transporting oil, fertilizer, chemicals and other goods after the United States imposed a blockade on the transport of Iranian oil through the Strait of Hormuz, forcing Tehran to rely more heavily on road and rail transportation.

The sanctions target the companies Iran Khodro and Saipa, the agency reported.

A statement issued last night said that the two companies account for more than 90 percent of Iran’s domestic automotive market.

The sanctions also target the state-owned Islamic Republic of Iran Railways, which provides passenger and freight transportation services, as well as Raja and Sherrkat-e Rah o-Nagl, described as the leading private freight railway company.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the measure is directly aimed at those enabling Iran’s activities and creates conditions for the United States and its partners to permanently exhaust the Iranian regime’s revenues.

The sanctions are part of a Treasury Department program called “Operation Economic Outcast,” announced on August 24, which aims to cut off funding for the war, missile development, cyberattacks and the activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Reuters reported.

The program is intended to pressure Tehran into negotiations to end the war, which began with U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran about seven months ago.