US President Donald Trump has vowed to hit Iran hard economically, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Washington would impose measures on Tehran that have “never been seen”. Bessent is due to hold a press conference at 2pm EDT (1800 GMT) today.
The United States, United Nations and European Union have applied sanctions, implemented trade embargoes and frozen assets since the late 1970s over Iran’s nuclear program, human rights violations and support for militant groups. Since the Iran war began in February, Washington has levied additional maritime, energy and financial sanctions and started a naval blockade.
Data from the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) shows the agency has imposed sanctions on more than 1,000 people, vessels and aircraft since Trump began his second term. Recent measures have targeted Iran’s shadow oil fleet; shipping insurers; entities and people enabling Iran’s acquisition of weapons; and digital exchanges, freezing an estimated $500bn in Iran-linked cryptocurrency. Past US sanctions have deterred larger independent refiners from buying Iranian oil. But the independent refineries are somewhat immune since they have little exposure to the US financial system, sanctions experts say. The United States could continue targeting Iranian individuals and entities, as well as others in China and the Gulf, that are helping Tehran evade sanctions to collect revenues for its war effort. The Treasury Department recently issued sanctions against firms that are springing up to facilitate Iran’s trading of oil revenue for imports. But such measures amount to a “whack-a-mole” approach that has not altered Iran’s behaviour, said Brett Erickson, managing principal of Obsidian Risk Advisors, noting that Tehran simply creates new entities to replace them.
Further aviation sanctions were also possible, aimed at degrading Iran’s ability to move trade now that the US has blockaded shipping via the Strait of Hormuz, he added. Some US and Israeli officials have floated the prospect of a land blockade, which would require assistance from Iran’s neighbours: Iraq, Turkey, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan and Armenia. A land blockade could increase pressure on the Iranian people by halting their imports of food, energy and textiles, but experts say such a move would be difficult to execute and might not result in protests or internal pressure. Trump has repeatedly threatened tariffs on goods from countries that do business with Iran, although the Supreme Court struck down the legal basis for such taxes.