TEHRAN – Leaders in the United States are continuing their efforts to prevent Iran from selling oil, even as Iran appears to have mastered the art of avoiding sanctions and its main customers refuse to stop purchasing Iranian energy.

The U.S. Treasury Department announced a new round of sanctions on Thursday, targeting 29 vessels it claimed are linked to Iran. In a statement, the Treasury described the vessels as part of what it called Iran’s “shadow fleet,” alleging that they are involved in transporting Iranian crude oil and petroleum products. 

The Treasury also said that several companies based in the United Arab Emirates, India, the Marshall Islands, and Panama were included in the sanctions package for their alleged role in facilitating Iranian oil exports.

Commenting on the move, Tommy Pigott, Deputy Spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, said the action would “further restrict Iran’s ability to export oil and petroleum products through opaque and deceptive mechanisms.”

He added that the measures are being carried out under an order by U.S. President Donald Trump to revive the so-called “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran.

The "maximum pressure" campaign began during Trump’s first term and continued through the Biden administration. It re-imposed sanctions previously lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal, coupling them with unprecedented secondary embargoes. Trump vowed to intensify the sanctions when he began his second term, but it remains unclear how "maximum" pressure can truly be maximized.

While the sanctions Trump initiated in 2018 initially decreased Iran’s oil sales, the country successfully recovered its export volume in subsequent years. Iran’s oil revenues have only continued to increase since then.

Earlier, Iran’s Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad said the conditions for selling Iranian oil remain unchanged compared to the period before the snapback of sanctions.

“The oil market is a dynamic one,” Paknejad said, noting that international prices and pricing indicators fluctuate over time and are influenced by global political and economic tensions. “As a result, our sales figures may rise or fall depending on market dynamics, but this does not mean that we are unable to sell oil,” he added.

Since Donald Trump took office this year, the U.S. administration has sanctioned more than 180 vessels it said were transporting Iranian crude oil and refined petroleum products.

At the same time, data published by oil export tracking platforms, including TankerTrackers, indicate that despite the intensified U.S. campaign, China — Iran’s main buyer — has increased its imports of Iranian crude. Analysts note there is a limit to how effective Washington’s sanctions strategy can be.