The United States will sanction any country that imports Iranian oil and there are no exemptions in place, the US special envoy for Iran said on Friday. “We will sanction any imports of Iranian crude oil,” Brian Hook said when asked about the sale of Iranian crude to Asia, adding that the United States would take a look at reports of Iranian crude going to China. “There are right now no oil waivers in place,” Hook told reporters in London. “We will sanction any illicit purchases of Iranian crude oil.” US President Donald Trump targeted Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other top Iranian officials with sanctions on Monday, taking an unprecedented step to increase pressure on Iran after Tehran’s downing of an unmanned American drone last week. Tehran has been selling increased volumes of petrochemical products at below market rates in countries including Brazil, China and India since the United States re-imposed sanctions on Iranian oil exports in November, Reuters reported this month. “Iran does have a history of using front companies to evade sanctions and enrich the regime and fund its foreign adventurism,” Hook said, adding that Iran routinely violates maritime law to hide its oil exports. “Iran has just rejected diplomacy too many times,” Hook said. “They have got to stop this sectarian agenda … in the Middle East.” Last year, Trump pulled the United States out of the multinational deal under which sanctions on Iran were lifted in return for curbs on its nuclear program, verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Washington has since re-imposed tough sanctions on Iran, aiming to cut Tehran’s oil sales to zero to force it to negotiate a broader deal that would also cover its ballistic missile capabilities and regional influence.