The US has imposed two sets of sanctions targeting Iran as it continues to pressure the country into abandoning its nuclear programme.

The White House introduced new measures to deter the Islamic Republic from setting up new payment mechanisms to circumvent existing sanctions on the purchase of Iranian oil. Existing sanctions on Iran’s downstream sector were also extended to cover the purchase of any Iranian petrochemical products.

The US says it would take measures against companies providing material support for the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC), Naftiran Intertrade Company or the Central Bank of Iran, or that help Tehran buy US currency or precious metals.

In a second action, the White House also imposed sanctions against China-based Bank of Kunlun and Iraq’s Elaf Islamic Bank for acting on behalf of Iranian banks that have links to “Iran’s illicit proliferation activities”, US President Barack Obama said in an official statement.

The statement said the two banks had facilitated transactions worth millions of dollars for Iranian banks and would be cut off from the US financial system in future.

“By cutting off these financial institutions from the United States, today’s action makes it clear that we will expose any financial institution, no matter where they are located, that allows the increasingly desperate Iranian regime to retain access to the international financial system,” Obama said.