NEW DELHI: The US government announced new sanctions against more than 30 individuals, companies and shadow fleet vessels accused of helping Iran carry out illicit petroleum sales and advance its ballistic missile and weapons programs.

According to US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, the measures also target networks that assist Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics in obtaining materials and equipment used in missile and other weapons production.

President Donald Trump has intensified pressure on Tehran, tightening economic restrictions while increasing the US military presence in the Middle East. He has warned that military action remains possible if Iran does not reach an agreement with Washington over its nuclear program. Trump briefly reiterated that stance during his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday night.

Iranian officials did not immediately comment on the latest round of sanctions.

Treasury officials said the sanctions include 12 shadow fleet vessels and their owners or operators, which they allege have transported hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian petroleum and petrochemical products.

The term shadow fleet refers to ships that transport oil in violation of sanctions. These vessels are often aging, operate under complex or opaque ownership structures, and lack the high-level insurance coverage typically required by major oil companies and many international ports.