The Treasury sanctions are directed at more than a dozen people and companies based in China, India and the United Arab Emirates.

U.S. concerns about Iran developing nuclear weapons are not a complicated issue and can be resolved given Tehran's opposition to weapons of mass destruction, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Wednesday,

President Trump’s desire to engage in negotiations is a turnabout from his first term, when he often derided former President Barack Obama for agreeing to a nuclear deal with Iran.

Decades of animosity between Iran and the United States are one of the main drivers of instability in the Middle East. Trump has previously taken a strong stand on Iran and particularly on a nuclear program which could lead to the development of atomic weapons. Iran says its nuclear aims are peaceful.

President Donald Trump’s recent decision to reinstate a goal from his first presidency to bring Iran’s oil exports to zero has had little impact on crude prices so far.