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3. U.S. Expands Sanctions on Iran’s Shadow Fleet Following Nuclear Talks in Oman

The U.S. State Department announced on Friday that it would impose new sanctions against Iranian individuals and assets with a stated goal of interrupting the capital flow that the regime uses to “support terrorism” domestically and abroad.

The statement expresses that the “Department of State is sanctioning multiple entities, individuals, and vessels to stem the flow of revenue that the regime in Tehran uses to support terrorism abroad and repress its citizens.”

The recipients of the sanctions include 14 vessels in Iran’s shadow fleet, 15 entities that have exported Iranian energy, and 2 individuals associated with this sector. 

Some of the listed individuals and companies are based in Turkey and the UAE, and many of the targeted vessels are registered in Panama and Barbados, making these penalties a form of secondary sanctions involving countries with closer relations to the U.S.

The U.S. had previously announced sanctions against nine other vessels of Iran’s shadow fleet and eight entities in January, with today’s sanctions expanding a list that is already active.

Earlier today, U.S. and Iranian officials, including U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, President Donald Trump’s senior advisor Jared Kushner, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi convened in Muscat, Oman to discuss the nuclear issue. Araghchi stated that the talks occurred in a “very positive atmosphere” and agreed with the U.S. to “proceed with negotiations” after the discussion ended. 

However, the U.S. sought to address the ballistic missile and proxy network issues in addition to Iran’s nuclear program, which Iran rejected. Iran also reportedly declined to end domestic nuclear enrichment in their negotiations, which is a core U.S. demand, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Today’s nuclear talks marked the first since June 2025 when Israeli attacks in Iran and the subsequent 12-Day War cut negotiations between the U.S. and Iran short.

The new sanctions from the U.S. suggest that it still retains the option to leverage coercive tools against the Iranian regime, even if officials stated that the meetings were positive.