The United States has issued a new wave of sanctions against Iran, targeting ships that it said are selling Iranian oil to help fund the country’s ballistic missile programme.

The penalties on Wednesday come a day after President Donald Trump renewed his threats against Iran in his State of the Union address.

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“Iran exploits financial systems to sell illicit oil, launder the proceeds, procure components for its nuclear and conventional weapons programs, and support its terrorist proxies,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in a statement.

“Under President Trump’s strong leadership, Treasury will continue to put maximum pressure on Iran to target the regime’s weapons capabilities and support for terrorism, which it has prioritised over the lives of the Iranian people.”

While the US describes the Iranian oil trade as “illicit”, Iran, which is selling its own petroleum products, describes the crackdown on its energy sector as piracy.

The US has been intensifying sanctions against Iran as it amasses military assets – including two aircraft carriers and large fleets of fighter jets – in the region in apparent preparation for war.

Wednesday’s penalties targeted 12 vessels, as well as several companies and individuals that the US said are involved in Iran’s oil sales and weapons acquisition.

The new sanctions will freeze targeted assets of the designated firms and individuals in the US and make it mostly illegal for American citizens to engage in financial transactions with them.

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Washington has been piling such sanctions on the Iranian economy since Trump nixed the multilateral nuclear deal with Tehran in 2018 during his first term.

That agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saw Iran scale back its nuclear programme in exchange for the release of international sanctions.

After returning to the White House in 2025, Trump reignited his economic maximum pressure campaign against Tehran with the goal of choking off Iran’s oil exports.

Still, the two countries have been engaging in diplomacy to avert the looming conflict.

US and Iranian negotiators are set to meet in Geneva on Thursday for their third round of negotiations this year.