The US State Department said on Thursday that it had placed sanctions on Kish Protection and Indemnity Club, known as Kish P&I, and Bimeh Markazi (the Central Insurance of Iran) known as CII, Reuters reported.
Kish P&I provides insurance for the National Iranian Tanker Company (NITC), and the CII provides the shipper with reinsurance, it added.
The US State Department also imposed a visa ban against six corporate officers with the companies.
The State Department and the US Treasury also on Thursday imposed sanctions on Greek shipping magnate Dimitris Cambis and his Impire Shipping Limited, claiming that he secretly operated a shipping network on behalf of Iran to get around sanctions on the country's oil sector.
In November 2012, the US Senate approved a new round of sanctions against Iran's energy, port, shipping and shipbuilding sectors.
Under the new rules, the United States would sanction anyone selling or supplying certain commodities to Iran - including graphite, aluminum, steel, and some industrial software - that are relevant to the country's shipbuilding and nuclear sectors.
The US, Israel and some of their allies claim that Tehran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program with the US and the European Union using the false claim as pretext to impose international and unilateral sanctions on Iran.
Tehran rejects the allegation against its nuclear energy activities, arguing that as a committed signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Weapons (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
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The US has imposed sanctions on two Iranian firms, saying the companies provide insurance services to Iran's main petroleum shipper in its latest bid to mount pressure on Tehran over its nuclear energy program.
News ID 184463
