The US State Department named nine entities Wednesday under new sanctions for continuing to trade petrochemicals with Iran.

The potential that the waivers would lapse has raised concerns since 2019 that state-owned Russian nuclear company Rosatom, which does work for Iran's civilian nuclear program but also supplies a fifth of US enriched uranium, could be sanctioned, disrupting the supply of nuclear fuel to US utilities.

The US State Department on Thursday set sanctions against companies in Dubai, Hong Kong, and Shanghai,

Iran's economy shrank by 4.6% in the 2018-2019 fiscal year and the contraction is expected to deepen to 7.2% in the current fiscal year, the IIF, a finance industry body, said this week.

The foreign ministers of France, Germany and the UK have triggered a dispute resolution mechanism over the nuclear deal with Iran - the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - following the Middle Eastern country's further step away from its commitments. Josep Borrell, EU foreign affairs chief and coordinator of the JCPOA joint commission, said he had received today a letter from the three ministers for resolution through the mechanism, as set out in paragraph 36 of the agreement.

German chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday repeated a call for all parties to respect the Iranian nuclear accord, despite Iran’s decision to intensify its enrichment of uranium and moves by the United States to impose economic sanctions.

I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, find that Iran continues to be the world's leading sponsor of terrorism and that Iran has threatened United States military assets and civilians through the use of military force and support to Iranian-backed militia groups.

the country's nuclear programme "no longer faces any operational restrictions, including enrichment capacity, percentage of enrichment, amount of enriched material, and research and development."

The Islamic Republic has rejected negotiating a new deal with the Trump administration, saying talks are only possible if Washington returns to the nuclear pact and lifts sanctions.

Trader estimates for cargoes loading from Iran bound for China in November generally ranged between seven and 10. Some said the number was lower at six to seven, while one source said it did not exceed nine.

The collateral damage of the United States’ trade wars is being felt from the fjords of Iceland to the auto factories of Japan.

“We won’t join the United States, but will cooperate closely with them,” Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a news briefing. “Self Defense Force assets will ensure the safety of vessels related to Japan.”

Iran's Petropars will now develop the Phase 11 of the gas project, which was signed in 2017. CNPC was supposed to take Total's 50.1% stake in the project on top of its initial 30% share.

“If the world does not take a strong and firm action to deter Iran, we will see further escalations that will threaten world interests,” Prince Mohammed, known as MbS, said through a translator. “Oil supplies will be disrupted and oil prices will jump to unimaginably high numbers that we haven’t seen in our lifetimes.”

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday it was impossible for Turkey to stop buying oil and natural gas from Iran, despite the threat of U.S. sanctions, and added that trade between the two countries would continue, according to broadcaster NTV.