The
United States on Wednesday imposed new
sanctions on Iran's biggest airline and its shipping network, accusing them of transporting lethal aid and weapons of mass destruction proliferation.
The new sanctions come just days after a weekend prisoner swap between the historic foes, a rare act of cooperation since tensions escalated after U.S. President
Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015
Iran nuclear accord.
The U.S. State Department targeted Shanghai-based ESAIL Shipping Company, which U.S.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said "knowingly transports illicit materials from Iran's Aerospace Industries Organization, which oversees all of Iran’s
missile industry" and has worked with Iranian organizations subject to U.N. sanctions.