A new round of U.S. sanctions were signed into law by President Barak Obama on December 31 and will be slowly implemented over the next six months, taking full effect in June. Under the new U.S. law, companies are banned from any transactions with Iran’s central bank through which the majority of Tehran’s oil revenues must pass, prohibiting refineries around the world from purchasing Iranian oil. The 27 EU member nations have also agreed in principle to ban Iranian oil imports and are expected to approve the sanction’s specific stipulations later this month.