The United States has imposed sanctions on Iraq's deputy Oil Minister, Ali Maarij al-Bahadli, accusing him of using his government position to divert Iraqi oil in support of Iran and its allied armed groups. According to the State Department, Iranian oil was fraudulently blended with Iraqi oil and sold to benefit Tehran, circumventing existing US unilateral sanctions on Iranian energy exports. The move is part of escalating US pressure on Iraq's incoming government to sever ties with Iran-linked Shia militias, which have struck US facilities in Iraq more than 600 times since a US-Israeli attack on Iran on 28 February, before a ceasefire was announced.