US imposes new Iran sanctions, Bessent warns: We know where you are

The US Treasury Department announced a new round of sanctions against Iran on Wednesday, targeting five individuals and 10 companies accused of helping Tehran operate its shadow fleet and evade economic restrictions. The sanctions, imposed by the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), focused primarily on individuals and maritime businesses operating in India, alongside entities based in Turkey and Singapore. Those designated included four Indian nationals, among them Suniel Kumar Sharma and Jaspreet Preeti Shahid, as well as Alisher Domullodzhanov, a Russian-Tajik national.

The companies targeted included India-based Aryavart Ship Management, Polynesia Maritime and other maritime businesses, Singapore-based Eswatini Maritime Affairs and International Ship Registry, and Turkey's Fugo Ground Services, also known as Fugo Aviation. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accompanied the announcement with a warning that Washington would continue targeting individuals and businesses providing assistance to the Iranian government.

“As we have said many times, under Operation Economic Outcast, you are either with us or against us," Bessent wrote on social media. “We know where you are, and we will sanction those who continue supporting the Iranian regime, whether by land, sea, or air," he added. The latest measures came one day after Democrats secured a landslide victory in the US midterm elections, winning control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The results prompted speculation that the incoming Democratic majorities could seek to pressure President Donald Trump to end the military confrontation with Iran. On Tuesday, as election results began emerging, Trump told the Financial Times that he had no immediate plans to launch additional strikes against Iran, although American forces remained prepared for further military action. "It's a brilliant situation," Trump said, expressing satisfaction with Washington's position.

The President also disputed the characterization of the confrontation as an ongoing war, pointing to the damage inflicted on Iran's nuclear infrastructure during previous American operations. “We're not really in a war, because we hit them with the B2 bombers and wiped out their nuclear potential incapacity. We then hit them again, Epic Fury, etc... But if you think about it, we haven't really had a war with them in a long time, six months, maybe more."

"I don't consider that we're in war like Ukraine, wars like World War I, World War II," he added. Trump confirmed that indirect negotiations with Tehran were continuing, including discussions about Iran's approximately 1,000-pound stockpile of enriched uranium, which he described as “nuclear dust". "Even though it's under hundreds of tons of rock, I would say that I'm not happy that it will be there," he said. "So it's one of the things that we do talk to them about.

But you know, we're having discussions, and we'll see how that all works out." The President said American forces were "locked and loaded if we need to go, but there may be no reason for it," adding that "We seem to be getting everything we want" in the negotiations. Meanwhile, Vice President JD Vance acknowledged Wednesday that the war with Iran had contributed to the Republican Party's election defeat. "The reason we lost is the war.

The president himself said so last night," Vance wrote on social media. Asked about the remarks later Wednesday, Trump expressed agreement with his Vice President. "I thought it was good. I knew that when I went in. We stopped them from having a nuclear weapon, and they'll never have a nuclear weapon," he said. Trump nevertheless defended the military campaign, insisting that preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons justified the decision.

"If I had it to do again, I'd have to do it again, because long term it's the only answer. You can't let Iran have a nuclear weapon."