The U.S. Treasury has announced new sanctions against Iran just days before direct nuclear talks are expected to begin, as President Donald Trump warns Tehran of “great danger” if negotiations fail.
The U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it imposed sanctions on five Iran-based entities and one person based in Iran for their support of Iran's nuclear program with the aim of denying Tehran a nuclear weapon.
"The Iranian regime's reckless pursuit of nuclear weapons remains a grave threat to the United States and a menace to regional stability and global security," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the statement.
"Treasury will continue to leverage our tools and authorities to disrupt any attempt by Iran to advance its nuclear program and its broader destabilizing agenda."
Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The action comes after Trump made a surprise announcement on Monday that the United States and Iran were poised to begin direct talks on Tehran's nuclear program, but Iran's foreign minister said the discussions in Oman would be indirect.
In a further sign of the difficult path to any deal between the two geopolitical foes, Trump issued a stark warning that if the talks were unsuccessful, "Iran is going to be in great danger."
The Treasury said those targeted on Wednesday supported two previously sanctioned entities that manage and oversee the country's nuclear program, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and its subordinate, the Iran Centrifuge Technology Company (TESA).
Among those targeted was a company that manufactures aluminum for TESA, an AEOI subordinate responsible for a number of nuclear reactor projects and a company tasked with developing thorium-fueled reactor technologies.
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Tuesday that Iran can expect tighter sanctions if it does not come to an agreement with Trump on its nuclear program.
Efforts to settle a dispute over Iran's nuclear program, which it says is purely for civilian use but which Western countries see as a precursor to an atomic bomb, have ebbed and flowed for more than 20 years without resolution.
Trump tore up a 2015 deal between Iran and six world powers - the U.S., Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany - during his first term of office in 2017 and talks since then have stalled.
Iranian officials told Reuters on Tuesday that Tehran is approaching weekend talks with the United States over its nuclear program warily, with little confidence in progress and deep suspicions over U.S. intentions
China has opened the world’s longest expressway tunnel to traffic in the Xinjiang region, across one of the country’s most challenging mountain ar...
The long-standing rivalry between India and Pakistan over Kashmir reached a dangerous peak in 2025, as missile strikes, drone warfare, and rapid milit...
Iran has rolled out a test vending of imported premium at market price in Tehran to address the country's domestic petroleum consumption deficit....
In 2025, Azerbaijan made notable strides in its foreign policy with the country's Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov said on Friday....
South Korea’s special prosecutor has requested a 10-year prison sentence for former president Yoon Suk Yeol, accusing him of attempting to obstruct ...
China has opened the world’s longest expressway tunnel to traffic in the Xinjiang region, across one of the country’s most challenging mountain areas.
Iran has rolled out a test vending of imported premium at market price in Tehran to address the country's domestic petroleum consumption deficit.
South Korea’s special prosecutor has requested a 10-year prison sentence for former president Yoon Suk Yeol, accusing him of attempting to obstruct his arrest following his failed bid to impose martial law.
In an era marked by geopolitical uncertainty, economic fragmentation, and accelerating climate pressures, meaningful diplomacy is no longer defined by rhetoric alone, but by clarity of purpose and convergence of vision.
A majority of Russians expect the war in Ukraine to end in 2026, state pollster VTsIOM said on Wednesday, in a sign that the Kremlin could be testing public reaction to a possible peace settlement as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict intensify.
In 2025, Ukraine lived two parallel realities: one of diplomacy filled with staged optimism, and another shaped by a war that showed no sign of letting up.
It’s been a year since an Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed near Aktau, Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. Relatives and loved ones mourn the victims, as authorities near the final stage of their investigation.
The White House has instructed U.S. military forces to concentrate largely on enforcing a “quarantine” on Venezuelan oil exports for at least the next two months, a U.S. official told Reuters, signalling that Washington is prioritising economic pressure over direct military action against Caracas.
Polish fighter jets on Thursday intercepted a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying near Poland’s airspace over the Baltic Sea and escorted it away from their area of responsibility.
China has opened the world’s longest expressway tunnel to traffic in the Xinjiang region, across one of the country’s most challenging mountain areas.
South Korea’s special prosecutor has requested a 10-year prison sentence for former president Yoon Suk Yeol, accusing him of attempting to obstruct his arrest following his failed bid to impose martial law.
Japan's cabinet has approved a record-high $785 billion budget for the next fiscal year - including the largest allocation for defence spending ever.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 26th of December, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Missile development in North Korea is set to continue over the next five years. The country’s leader Kim Jong Un made the remarks during visits to major arms production facilities in the final quarter of 2025, the state news agency KCNA reported on Friday.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment