A gas flare on an oil production platform in the Soroush oil fields is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf, July 25, 2005. Photo: Reuters / Raheb Homavandi / File.

The Trump administration announced new sanctions on Thursday against five companies and three individuals for breaking an embargo on the oil trade with Iran.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that the companies were being sanctioned for “knowingly engaging in a significant transaction for the purchase, acquisition, sale, transport, or marketing of petroleum or petroleum products from Iran.”

Pompeo named the five companies as “Iran-based Abadan Refining Company; China based Zhihang Ship Management CO Ltd., New Far International Logistics LLC and Sino Energy Shipping Ltd.; and United Arab Emirates (UAE) based Chemtrans Petrochemicals Trading LLC.”

The three individuals sanctioned were named by Pompeo as “Min Shi, employee of New Far; Zuoyou Lin, employee of Sino Energy; and Alireza Amin, employee of Abadan.”

“Iran’s petroleum industry is a major source of revenue for the Iranian regime and funds its malign activities throughout the Middle East,” Pompeo stated. “Our actions today reaffirm the United States’ commitment to denying the Iranian regime the financial resources it needs to fuel terrorism and other destabilizing activities. We call on the regime yet again to stop undermining the Iranian people’s prosperity by exploiting Iran’s natural resources to sow chaos and destruction.”

The new measures were “another reminder that the United States will not waver in its commitment to sanctions enforcement,” Pompeo remarked.

“Our sanctions will remain in place until Iran changes its behavior,” the Secretary of State confirmed.