WASHINGTON, July 15 (Reuters) - The U.S government issued sanctions on Wednesday targeting individuals and entities that it said were a part of an international network helping Iran procure weapons.The sanction targets include Iranian and Russian nationals, as well as entities bases in Iran, Russia and Nigeria, the U.S. Treasury Department said in a statement.

The US imposes new sanctions on Iran's shipping network to increase economic pressure and disrupt oil sales.

The US government issued sanctions on Wednesday targeting individuals and entities that it said were a part of an international network helping Iran