Image for representation purposes only The United States on Wednesday imposed a new round of Iran-related sanctions, targeting eight tankers and 10 entities that it said were helping Iran generate revenue from ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil shipping routes. The sanctions, announced by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), include two maritime firms, Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Co and HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority. The Treasury said the companies played a key role in an Iranian scheme to collect digital assets and other revenue from ships through insurance policies linked to transit in the Strait of Hormuz. Six of the sanctioned entities are based in China. Tensions between Washington and Tehran continue to rise. Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States would respond strongly after the U.S. military intercepted multiple ballistic missiles launched by Iran toward American forces in the Middle East. The United States and Saudi Arabia also carried out joint strikes against Iran-backed groups in Iraq on the same day. According to the Treasury Department, several of the sanctioned entities were involved in an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-backed scheme that required ships to buy mandatory maritime insurance to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The Treasury said the programme, called “Hormuz Safe”, was set up by Iran’s main insurance regulator to cover risks that it said were largely created by the Islamic Republic itself, including attacks on commercial ships. It added that the money raised through the programme was intended to fund the regime’s activities. The Treasury also said Iranian financier Babak Morteza Zanjani promoted the Hormuz Safe programme on his social media platform. Zanjani was sanctioned earlier this year, while additional sanctions announced last week targeted individuals and entities li