Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The Donald Trump administration has sanctioned four India-based companies over Iranian oil and petrochemical trade involving about $119 million, escalating Washington’s campaign to choke off Tehran’s global revenue streams. Three Indian nationals were also targeted in the sanctions announced under the Operation Economic Outcast initiative.
The latest sanctions are part of what the US Treasury has described as an “economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe”. According to the US Treasury, India-based Sadashiva Overseas Limited imported about $69 million worth of Iranian-origin petroleum products between February 2024 and June 2025. Some of those shipments were linked to Bonjoure Commodity FZE, a company previously designated by Washington.
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PP Softtech Private Limited and Prakrutees Infra Impex India Private Limited were each accused of importing about $25 million worth of Iranian-origin petroleum products, taking the value of imports cited by the US across the three companies to about $119 million.
The fourth company, Portease Partners LLP, an India-based customs broker, was sanctioned for allegedly facilitating multiple shipments of Iranian petrochemical products into India.
The US also targeted three Indian nationals. Prashant Garg, director of PP Softtech, was sanctioned alongside Portease partners Indrismiya Asharafmiya Shekh and Harish Ramchandra Rangi.
US ECONOMIC D-DAY AGAINST IRAN
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the latest measures would “tighten the noose” around the Iranian government, while describing the campaign as “economic D-Day”. Washington has warned that economic engagement “of any kind” with Iran could trigger penalties as the administration seeks to isolate Tehran financially.
The latest sanctions come despite a fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran, with no lasting settlement yet in place. Washington has previously targeted other India-based companies over alleged Iranian oil dealings, including four firms sanctioned in February and six companies and three Indian nationals targeted in July last year.
The latest list also includes around 20 companies based in China and Hong Kong and four China-based individuals. Nearly 60 individuals, entities and vessels were sanctioned by the US Treasury Department.
IRAN SAYS IT IS READY TO RESIST
Tehran has rejected the US pressure campaign. Iran’s Foreign Ministry called the latest sanctions a threat to international law and the UN charter.
“No honorable state that values its sovereignty and national interests will accept the normalisation of such gross lawlessness and systematic bullying,” it said. Iranian Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh said the country was “fully prepared” to withstand the latest measures and had a “two-year plan” to counter them. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf also dismissed Washington’s threats against countries trading with Tehran as “big talk”.
“Iran’s trade partners have also announced to us, both through the media and by sending messages, that they regard these statements as utterly meaningless,” Ghalibaf said.
“The Americans know that no one believes their big talk; the United States is not in a position economically to further restrict its relations with other countries,” he added.
Ghalibaf said the US was paying an economic price for its campaign against Iran and warned that sanctions would not force Tehran’s trading partners to cut ties.
SANCTIONS EASE OIL MARKET FEARS
The shift from direct military confrontation to economic pressure in the US-Israeli conflict with Iran has eased some concerns in the oil market, news agency Reuters reported, citing Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank. He said Washington’s latest sanctions package was less aggressive than some traders had anticipated.
The renewed focus on economic measures has also raised hopes that the US and Iran could return to negotiations to end the conflict, oil trading adviser Ritterbusch and Associates said. The war began after the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran in late February.
Signs of a possible diplomatic opening have emerged, with Iran and Oman saying they discussed a proposal on Tuesday for a “joint temporary navigational corridor” through the Strait of Hormuz, along with plans to clear mines from the strategic waterway. However, Ritterbusch and Associates cautioned that the sharp drop in oil prices on Tuesday may have gone too far. The firm warned that prices could rebound sharply if Iran responds with attacks on US military installations across the Middle East.
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SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
