New Sanctions Signify American Unreliability

President Ebrahim Raeisi said the international community should give Tehran the right not to trust Washington because of its erratic moves.  
“On the one hand, the Americans are sending the message that they are ready to negotiate, but on the other, they are adding to the sanctions. The world should give us the right not to trust them,” he said on Friday, President.ir reported.
The remarks came after the US administration on Thursday imposed a new round of sanctions on Iranian petrochemical firms and a network of Chinese, UAE and Indian companies over what the US Treasury described as facilitating the export of Iran’s oil.
The US Treasury Department said in a statement that the new restrictive measures were aimed at ramping up pressure on Iran amid stalled negotiations aimed at reviving the 2015 Iran deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
“The United States is pursuing the path of meaningful diplomacy to achieve a mutual return to compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action,” Brian Nelson, a senior Treasury Department official, asserted in the statement.
“Absent a deal, we will continue to use our sanctions authorities to limit exports of petroleum, petroleum products and petrochemical products from Iran,” Nelson said, adding that “the United States will continue to expose the networks Iran uses to conceal sanctions evasion activities.”
The Treasury Department said it was imposing sanctions on several Iranian petrochemical firms, including what it claimed to be front companies in China and the UAE for Iran’s state-owned petrochemical company and Triliance, which is a Hong Kong-based company already under US sanctions for its dealing with Iran.
The Iran-based petrochemical firms targeted by the sanctions are Marun Petrochemical Company, Kharg Petrochemical Company and Fanavaran Petrochemical Company.
The Treasury also took action against China-based broker Jeff Gao and Indian national Mohammad Shaheed Ruknooddin Bhore for allegedly managing business for Triliance.
Firms, individuals and other entities targeted by US sanctions are subject to asset freezes and Americans are barred from doing business with them.