Iran condemns US plans to announce new sanctions

Iran has denounced US plans to announce new sanctions that could further strain the country's economy. The sanctions are expected to impact Iran's most important trading partners, including China. According to Fadi Hilani, Director of the Middle East Program at the National Council in Washington, the new sanctions will target countries and entities trading with Iran, including China.

The US Treasury Department is set to impose a package of banking sanctions on those dealing with Iran on Monday. US President Donald Trump has warned countries against providing Tehran with "any type of lifeline", putting particular pressure on China, which buys more than 80 per cent of Iran's seaborne oil exports. Iran's central bank governor, Abdolnaser Hemmati, said last week that the country's oil exports had effectively fallen to zero and access to foreign currency had become increasingly constrained.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the planned sanctions amounted to an attempt by Washington to impose its authority on independent states. "Such secondary sanctions find no foundation in international law," he said on social media. The Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, has called for the war to end, but Washington and Tehran show little sign of returning to negotiations.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Jakarta Post, Ajel English, The National Business, The National UAE — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.