A huge art work banner newly posted on the corner of Vali Asr Square depicts Iranian missiles with messages addressing Minab schoolgirls and victims of Epstein Island on March 17, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. =
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The U.S. is imposing sanctions on companies and individuals across the Middle East and China for allegedly helping Iran in its war efforts, the State Department said.
The moves target 11 entities and three individuals based in Iran, China, Belarus, and the United Arab Emirates, the department said in a statement late on Friday.
“Included in today’s actions are several China-based entities providing satellite imagery to enable Iran’s military strikes against U.S. forces in the Middle East,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in the statement.
“Additionally, we are designating entities and individuals enabling efforts by Iran’s military to secure weapons, as well as raw materials with applications in Iran’s ballistic missile and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) programs,” Rubio said.
Rubio said on Friday that the U.S. was expecting a response from Iran that day on the U.S.’s proposal to end the war.
Iran said Thursday it is reviewing messages from the U.S. received via Pakistani mediators, but it has yet to reach a conclusion or deliver a reply, according to Iranian state media, which cited an Iranian official.
Axios and other news outlets reported earlier this week that the countries were nearing a 14-point memorandum of understanding to put an end to the war and resume talks around Iran’s nuclear program.
Rubio’s comments come amid confusion over whether a ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. is still in effect, as both have opened fire in the Strait of Hormuz, accusing the other of initiating attacks.
President Donald Trump on Thursday insisted the ceasefire was still in effect, calling the strikes “just a love tap.” Trump also said the Iranians wanted to “make a deal very much.”
“We’ve seen a report overnight that Iran has established, or trying to establish, some agency that’s going to control traffic in the straits. That would be [a] problem. That would actually be unacceptable,” Rubio said Friday.
The blockade of the narrow waterway, which normally carries around a fifth of global oil supply, has caused a global energy shock. The International Energy Agency has called the situation “the biggest energy security threat in history.”
— CNBC’s Elsa Ohlen and Kevin Breuninger contributed to this report.
