US announces new sanctions on Iran and Cuba, affecting individuals and entities in multiple countries

On May 7, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the State Department simultaneously announced a new round of unilateral sanctions against Iran and Cuba on their official websites.

On the same day, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) issued a notice adding multiple individuals and related entities from Iraq and Cuba to the "Specially Designated Nationals List" (SDN List), using sanctions to further exert external pressure on Iran and Cuba.

The U.S. side claimed that a Deputy Minister of Oil in Iraq was suspected of using his position to assist Iran in exporting oil, and therefore listed him on the sanctions list; meanwhile, sanctions were imposed on three senior leaders of an Iraqi armed group closely linked to Iran. According to relevant regulations, all assets of the sanctioned targets in the U.S. will be frozen, and no individuals or entities within the U.S. are permitted to conduct any transactions with them.

At the same time, the U.S. Department of State also issued a sanctions announcement, including the Cuba Enterprise Management Group, the Moa Nickel Plant, and relevant corporate executives in the scope of sanctions. Prior to this, U.S. President Trump had signed an executive order on May 1, using the pretext of endangering U.S. national security and foreign policy to further ratchet up sanctions against Cuba.