The United States renewed objections to the construction of an Iran-Pakistan pipeline, which was officially launched on March 11, The Financial Times reported. The pipeline, which had been announced several times before, will cost $1.5 billion dollars and provide Pakistan with Iranian gas.

The Obama administration said sanctions would have to be implemented against entities involved in the project should it come to fruition. “We have serious concerns if this project actually goes forward … that the Iran Sanctions Act would be triggered,” said State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland.

Nuland added that the United States remained skeptical that the project would actually proceed despite the rhetoric from Iran and Pakistan. “We've heard this pipeline announced about 10 or 15 times before in the past. So we have to see what actually happens,” she said.