WASHINGTON, June 25 (Xinhua) -- The United States on Thursday announced sanctions against four Iranian metal companies and several foreign sales agents of a blacklisted Iranian steel company.

The U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement that it had designated four steel, aluminum and iron companies operating within Iran's metals sector, including one subsidiary of Iran's largest steel manufacturer Mobarakeh Steel Company.

The sanctions list also included one Germany-based and three United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based sales agents owned or controlled by Mobarakeh Steel Company, which had been designated by the United States since 2018.

"These sales agents generated tens of millions of dollars annually from the foreign sale of Mobarakeh Steel Company products, providing significant contributions to the billions of dollars generated overall by Iran's steel, aluminum, copper, and iron sectors," said the statement.

According to the designation, all property and interests of the property of designated entities in the United States have been blocked and U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them.

The Trump administration announced sanctions against Iran for two consecutive days. On Wednesday, the United States designated five Iranian tanker captains who delivered Iranian gasoline to Venezuela.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi called the Wednesday sanctions another "desperate" move by the United States against Iranian individuals and a sign of the "miserable failure" of the Trump administration's pressure policy.

"Despite the U.S. pressure, Iran and Venezuela remain steadfast in countering unlawful American sanctions," Mousavi stressed.

Since its unilateral exit from the Iran nuclear deal in 2018, Washington has been mounting pressure on Tehran through a series of sanctions. Iran has maintained a tough stance and scaled back its nuclear commitments in response. Enditem

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