The government of Donald Trump announced Friday, January 15, five days before the end of his mandate, a new round of sanctions against Iran, strengthening to the end its "
maximum pressure
" which risks complicating the resumption of the desired dialogue by President-elect Joe Biden.
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The head of American diplomacy Mike Pompeo in particular targeted the maritime transport sector, already at the heart of severe measures since June against the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL), accused of transporting products related to the ballistic missile program from Tehran.
“
We warned the industry that those who do business with IRISL, its subsidiaries or other Iranian shipping entities would face sanctions.
Today, we are sanctioning seven entities and two individuals for this,
”he said in a statement.
The State Department has blacklisted companies based in Iran, China and the United Arab Emirates for transporting materials through IRISL.
Mike Pompeo also unveiled a series of punitive measures against Iranian entities accused of contributing to the "
proliferation
" of conventional weapons in the Middle East: Marine Industries Organization, Aerospace Industries Organization and Iran Aviation Industries Organization.
This is a symbolic measure because these entities were already sanctioned by the United States for their alleged participation in Tehran's program of weapons of mass destruction.
With these sanctions, Mike Pompeo, spearhead of the campaign of "
maximum pressure
" against Iran, raises obstacles in the path of future President Biden.
The latter said he wanted to return to the 2015 international agreement on Iranian nuclear power, from which Donald Trump withdrew the United States.
For this, he will have to lift the US sanctions imposed by the Trump administration, on condition that the Iranian authorities also come back to the core of the agreement after gradually withdrawing from its restrictions in response to Washington's measures.