Sepehr was designated in 2023 but the new sanctions go further by targeting the network underpinning Iran’s oil sales, including tanker masters and companies providing crew to vessels transporting Iranian oil, including an Indian company that claims to have more than 100 vessels under management.

The U.S. Department of Treasury on Thursday imposed sanctions on a network of more than a dozen people and firms that are accused of facilitating the shipment of millions of barrels of Iranian oil to China.

The Treasury Department Thursday imposed new sanctions on an international oil network it said ships hundreds of millions of dollars of oil to China. The funds allegedly benefit Iran's military.

Iran's oil minister said imposing unilateral sanctions on crude producers would destabilise energy markets, the ministry's SHANA news outlet reported on Wednesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would seek to drive Tehran's oil exports to zero.

The sanctions target the network for "facilitating the shipment of millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil worth hundreds of millions of dollars to the People's Republic of China," the Treasury Department wrote in a statement.

The U.S. Treasury said on Thursday it is imposing new sanctions on individuals and tankers helping to ship millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil per year to China. The move comes after U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this week vowed to bring Iran's oil exports to zero as the U.

President Trump has launched a second round of sanctions on Iran with the goal of cutting the country’s oil exports to zero, particularly to China, its biggest customer. This “maximum pressure” campaign is similar to the tactics used previously,