U.S.-Iran Tensions: Washington Increases Its Economic Sanctions

The Treasury Department announced Wednesday a new series of sanctions directed at an Iranian entity involved in managing the strategic Persian Gulf Strait, intensifying economic pressure on Tehran. In a statement, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent specified that these measures are not limited to the targeted entity but will also extend to anyone or any entity participating in the payment of these fees, due to supposed links with the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

According to Washington, these operations would constitute an indirect financing mechanism for military and paramilitary activities, thus exposing their actors to new international sanctions. Scott Bessent condemned what he sees as a strategy of economic pressure exerted by Iran on global maritime trade. “The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade shows that the economic crisis is driving the regime to desperately seek liquidity,” he stated.

The U.S. official also claimed that these measures aim to deprive the Iranian regime of resources used, according to him, for its armament programs, allied networks, and nuclear ambitions. He finally indicated that the United States asserts it has blocked Tehran’s access to several tens of billions of dollars in revenue, as part of their enhanced sanctions policy.