US Treasury Signals Fresh Iran Bank Sanctions This Week

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said Washington is likely to announce sanctions on a bank this week as part of its ongoing economic pressure campaign against Iran. Speaking on the sidelines of the Group of 20 finance leaders' meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, Bessent indicated that further sanctions would follow in the subsequent week.

Bessent said the United States was also examining airline leasing companies and other entities that conduct business with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). "We are tracking down the IRGC's assets," he said, adding that Washington has "zero tolerance" and intends to "economically asphyxiate this regime."

In a pointed message to the IRGC, Bessent claimed the US knows about accounts held in the British Virgin Islands and properties worth millions of dollars around the world, and said these would be frozen.

The Treasury Secretary also noted that the US has held private discussions with China on preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and on ensuring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

Bessent had earlier indicated that the Treasury was likely to unveil weekly secondary sanctions, with an initial focus on banks, and that the next step could involve cutting an institution off entirely from the dollar-based financial system.