The United States imposed new sanctions on Wednesday on Iran's largest airline and shipping network, accusing them of transporting deadly aid and contributing to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, according to Reuters.
The new sanctions come just days after the latest prisoner exchange last Saturday between the two countries, which is a rare act of cooperation since tension escalated, especially after US President Donald Trump withdrew from the Iranian nuclear deal in 2018.
The US State Department has targeted the ESAIL Navigation Company in Shanghai, which US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says is knowingly transporting illegal materials from the Iranian Aviation Industry Organization, which oversees all Iranian missile industry," and has worked with Iranian organizations subject to United Nations sanctions.
The sanctions imposed on ESAIL and the additional sanctions imposed on Iran's shipping lines will take effect from June next year.