US announces new sanctions targeting Iran’s oil exports after Oman talks

US to block transactions with 14 vessels over Iranian oil, sanctioning 15 entities and two individuals

The United States on Friday announced new sanctions to curb Iran's oil exports, including targeting 14 vessels, moments after the adversaries wrapped up a day of indirect talks in Oman.

US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said Iran uses oil revenue to "fund destabilising activities around the world and step up its repression inside Iran."

Trump is "committed to driving down the Iranian regime's illicit oil and petrochemical exports under the administration's maximum pressure campaign," Pigott said in a statement.

The state department said it would order a block of any transactions with 14 vessels said to transport Iranian oil, including ships flagged from Turkey, India and the United Arab Emirates. It also announced sanctions on 15 entities and two people.

Since Trump's first administration, the United States has imposed sanctions to force all other countries to stop buying Iranian oil.

Iran's foreign minister met indirectly in Oman on Friday with senior Trump envoys on his country's nuclear programme and said there was a "positive atmosphere."

Trump had threatened the use of force against Iran and ramped up the US military presence near Iran's shores.

US military buildup puts pressure on Tehran

Tehran's clerical leadership remains deeply worried that Trump may still carry out his threats to strike Iran after a military buildup by the US Navy near Iran.

In June, the US struck Iranian nuclear targets, joining in the final stages of a 12-day Israeli bombing campaign. Tehran has since said its uranium enrichment work has stopped.

The US naval buildup, which Trump has called a massive “armada”, has followed a bloody government crackdown on nationwide protests in Iran last month, heightening tensions between Washington and Tehran.

Read: US, Iran nuclear talks move to Oman

Trump has warned that "bad things" would probably happen if a deal could not be reached, ratcheting up pressure on the Islamic Republic in a standoff that has led to mutual threats of air strikes.

"While these negotiations are taking place, I would remind the Iranian regime that the president has many options at his disposal, aside from diplomacy, as the commander-in-chief of the most powerful military in the history of the world," White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday told reporters.

World powers and regional states fear a breakdown in the negotiations would lead to another conflict between the US and Iran which could spill over to the rest of the oil-rich region.

The Kremlin, an ally of Iran, said on Friday it hoped the negotiations would yield results and lead to a de-escalation. It urged all sides to show restraint in the meantime.

Iran has vowed a harsh response to any military strike and has cautioned neighbouring Gulf Arab countries hosting US bases in the oil-rich region that they could be in the firing line if they were involved in an attack.