The US Treasury announced new Iran-related sanctions on two individuals and nine entities on Thursday. The sanctions are aimed at India's Mohammed Shaheed Ruknooddin Bhore and China's Gao Jingfeng.

The entities on the sanctions list are Fanavaran Petrochemical Company in Tehran, Future Gate Fuel and Petrochemical Trading L.L.C. in Dubai, Gx Shipping Fze also in the United Arab Emirates, Keen Well International Limited in Hong Kong, Kharg Petrochemical Company Limited in Iran, Marun Petrochemical Company in Iran, Sky Zone Trading Fze in the UAE, Teamford Enterprises Limited in Hong Kong, and Youchem General Trading Fze in the UAE.

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Iran sanctions could tighten

At a classified briefing on Wednesday, Biden administration officials guaranteed senators that the US would increase sanctions on Iran if necessary, as hopes for a diplomatic solution to Tehran's nuclear program faded, according to attendees who spoke to Politico.

The statements came as lawmakers from both parties pressed the Biden administration to outline a backup plan to "prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons" as per their claims. US officials had been working for months to resurrect the nuclear deal with Tehran, which Donald Trump ripped up in 2018, but the last of those discussions took place in March, according to one top lawmaker.

Moreover, officials from the Biden administration told senators that existing sanctions against Iran would be maintained at the very least. Menendez responded, "I would stay tuned," when asked if the administration is considering additional measures to deter Iran's nuclear program.

Khamenei to Maduro: Resistance only way to counter US pressures

On June 11, in a meeting between the Iranian leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei and the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Khamenei remarked that "the successful experience of the two countries showed that the only way to face these pressures [from the United States] is resistance."

He also spoke of the scientific and technological progress and initiatives that Iran has made in recent years, maintaining that these progresses were made at a time when the toughest sanctions were imposed on the country, calling it the "maximum pressure campaign."

The resistance of the Iranian people defeated the campaign of maximum pressure that even US officials described it as a "disgraceful defeat", according to the leader.