They are the latest in a series of steps intended to raise pressure on Tehran in the waning days of the Trump administration, which will end on 20 January.

US. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said seven firms, including Chinese-based Jiangyin Mascot Special Steel Co and UAE-based Accenture Building Materials, and two individuals for shipping steel to or from Iran, had been sanctioned by Washington.

He said the Marine Industries Organization of Iran, the Aerospace Industries Organization and the Aviation Industries Organization of Iran were all blacklisted over the proliferation of conventional weapons.

During his four years in office, Iran has been Trump's priority as he tried to push Tehran back into talks about its nuclear and ballistic missile programs and its Middle East activities.

Trump scrapped an Iran nuclear deal in 2018 that Tehran signed with world powers in 2015 to rein in its nuclear program in exchange for penalty relief because it did not go far enough.

Trump said he was open to negotiating a much broader pact that would seek broader controls on Iran's nuclear program, as well as limits on its missile production and regional sponsorship.

Democratic President-elect Joe Biden, who will succeed Trump on Wednesday, has confirmed that if Iran resumes full compliance with it, he will return to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Maritime Business World