US Expands Iran Sanctions to Five New Sectors in Economic Push
The US has imposed sweeping new sanctions on Iran, targeting five additional sectors and suspending several general licenses to sever economic lifelines.
The United States has announced a major expansion of economic sanctions against Iran, extending restrictions to five new sectors in a bid to intensify pressure on Tehran. The move, confirmed by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, now covers Iran's aviation, digital assets, gold, shipping, and technology industries.
Alongside the sector-wide measures, Washington has suspended multiple general licenses related to Iran. These included permissions for certain educational activities, personal remittances, and sports and academic exchanges.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described the action as an "economic onslaught" aimed at severing Iran's financial connections worldwide. He stated that the objective is to cut off every economic lifeline that sustains the country.
Bessent also warned that the US would no longer tolerate operating in what he called the "gray spaces" of the conflict. He threatened unilateral action through Treasury authorities against countries that do not sever financial ties with Iran. Any entity found to be laundering money on behalf of Iran, he cautioned, would be cut off from the US dollar system.
The latest measures mark a significant escalation in the Trump administration's policy of maximum economic pressure on Tehran.
This development comes amid a fragile diplomatic backdrop. Iran and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding on June 18 aimed at ending the war in the region, including in Lebanon. Under that agreement, negotiations were to begin within 60 days, with a deadline of August 17 for a final accord. However, the fate of those talks remains uncertain as tensions between the two countries have continued to rise since the document was signed.