US targets Iranian LPG magnate with sanctions, Treasury says

The United States issued new sanctions on Tuesday targeting Iranian liquefied petroleum gas magnate Seyed Asadoollah Emamjomeh and his corporate network, the Treasury Department said, amid ongoing talks with Tehran on its nuclear programme.

Emamjomeh's network is responsible for shipping hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian LPG and crude oil to foreign markets, Treasury said in a statement.

Both products are a major source of revenue for Iran, helping to fund its nuclear and advanced conventional weapons programs, it said, as well as regional proxy groups including Hezbollah, Yemen's Houthis and the Palestinian Hamas group.

"Emamjomeh and his network sought to export thousands of shipments of LPG -- including from the United States -- to evade U.S. sanctions and generate revenue for Iran," Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in the statement.

Iran and the United States agreed on Saturday to begin drawing up a framework for a potential nuclear deal, Iran's foreign minister said, after talks that a U.S. official described as yielding "very good progress."

Top negotiators planned to meet again in Oman on Saturday.

The United States has imposed sanctions on Iran previously as talks were under way.