The United States today announced a series of sanctions against Iran’s petrochemical industry “in response to the October 1 attack against Israel, the second direct attack this year.”

The sanctions target the entire sector, according to the announcement of the Ministry of Finance. They also concern about 20 ships and companies established abroad that are accused of being involved in the transport of Iranian oil and petrochemical products.

These companies are mainly based in China, but among them there are two based in the United Arab Emirates and one in Liberia.

The ship’s owning companies, which are mainly based in Panama, Malaysia and the Marshall Islands, are also being targeted.

This decision was “taken in coordination with (US) allies and partners, many of whom will announce their own measures in the coming days,” emphasized Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s National Security Adviser. The latter had agreed on October 2, in his telephone conversation with his G7 counterparts, to impose new sanctions on Iran.

Washington wants to increase economic pressure on Tehran and “limit the regime’s ability to raise the necessary revenues to destabilize the region and attack US partners.”

The sanctions freeze the assets held by companies targeted by the US. US-based companies or US citizens are also prohibited from doing business with them. They will thus complicate the commercial transactions of these companies, as their ability to use dollars is limited.