WANA (May 13) – U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce announced Tuesday that Washington has imposed sanctions on an international network allegedly involved in transferring millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil worth billions of dollars to China.

 

Bruce claimed the network operated through a front company named Sepehr Energy Jahan Nama Pars.

 

She further alleged that the revenue from these oil sales was being used to fund Iran’s development of ballistic missiles, military drones, the expansion of its nuclear program, and what she described as “support for Iranian proxy groups.”

 

The previous day, the U.S. Department of the Treasury also announced new sanctions targeting two Iranian individuals and one company. The sanctions were imposed as part of what the U.S. called “secondary sanctions.”

 

These sanctions come as the fourth round of indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States took place on Sunday, May 11. Oman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced that a fifth round of Iran-U.S. talks is expected to be held next week.

 

Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, on Tuesday criticized what he called the contradictory positions of U.S. officials regarding the goals of the talks. “Other parties need to set their minds straight and refrain from making conflicting statements,” Baqaei said.

 

Referring to the U.S. sanctions imposed simultaneously with the negotiations, he added: “Imposing sanctions is inconsistent with the negotiation process and will certainly influence our approach.”