The U.S. Treasury will unveil new sanctions against Iran on Monday, which Secretary Scott Bessent called the single greatest financial offensive ever against Tehran. Iran has responded by threatening to seize ships violating transit rules in the Strait of Hormuz, after both sides missed a 60-day ceasefire window in the war now in its sixth month.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington will unveil the single greatest financial offensive ever against Iran on Monday, even as Tehran threatens to seize vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz. The announcement follows both sides missing a 60-day ceasefire window to end the Middle East war, closing off the formal truce mechanism.
Bessent frames sanctions as an endgame
In a post on X Sunday evening, Bessent said "at dawn begins an economic D-Day," according to CNBC, framing the coming measures as the endgame of Washington's campaign against Tehran. The new measures will add to an existing sanctions regime targeting Iran's banking, energy, aviation and cryptocurrency sectors. The Trump administration has claimed Iran's economy is in freefall, citing runaway inflation and a collapsing currency.
While details of the new sanctions remain unknown, the Iranian rial hit a new open-market low on Sunday, with the dollar surpassing 2 million rials. Bessent also warned that any nation serving as a financial artery of a withering regime should expect to share in its isolation, language aimed at governments still transacting with Tehran.
Iran tightens its grip on Hormuz
Iran has warned Gulf neighbors against joining U.S. economic measures while tightening control over the chokepoint, through which roughly a fifth of the world's seaborne oil passed before the war. On Saturday, Mohsen Rezaei, the new secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, vowed to target the interests of oil-rich neighbors that join U.S. efforts to isolate Iran.
The state-controlled Persian Gulf Strait Authority separately warned that vessels violating its transit rules could face fines, seizure or confiscation. Tehran's parliament also approved a provision Sunday stipulating that ships passing through Hormuz must pay for services Tehran provides, though the legislation still needs full parliamentary approval.
Crude slips despite the standoff
Crude oil slipped despite the standoff. West Texas Intermediate fell about 1.3% to $85.93 a barrel in Asian trading Monday, while Brent crude dropped 1.3% to $93.22 a barrel.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency reported no confirmed attacks in the strait over the 48 hours to Sunday, though it warned of a continued risk of drifting or uncharted mines. Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi is scheduled to visit Tehran Tuesday to continue talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi over the arrangement of the Strait of Hormuz. Araghchi has dismissed the threat of fresh U.S. sanctions as a desperate ploy, asserting the measures were set to fail.
Source: CNBC
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