WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday issued another round of Iran-related sanctions, taking aim at Iran’s efforts to “monetize the Strait of Hormuz” with designations of 10 entities and eight more tankers, the US Treasury Department said.
Six of the entities targeted for sanctions were based in China, it said.
The sanctions followed a vow by US President Donald Trump earlier on Wednesday to hit Iran hard, according to an interview with Fox News, after the US military said it had intercepted multiple ballistic missiles launched by Iran toward American forces in the Middle East. The United States and Saudi Arabia jointly struck Iran-backed groups in Iraq on Wednesday.
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control designated two firms, the Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Co and HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority, which it said were integral to an Iranian scheme to extract digital assets and other revenue from ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz through various insurance policies.
“With its economy in freefall and inflation in the triple digits, the regime is desperate for cash,” said Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent.
“The United States will not allow Iran to hold global commerce hostage or use international shipping to finance the IRGC’s terrorism, aggression, and repression,” Bessent said, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The new sanctions are part of a broader push by the Trump administration to leverage both economic tools and military strikes to intensify pressure on Iran and end a deeply unpopular war that has dragged Trump’s approval ratings lower.
“The Iran war demonstrates that this administration will use US economic and military power in concert,” said Jess Hoversen, a former OFAC official who is now chief economist at Column, a digital platform bank.
OFAC has moved quickly to designate maritime logistics, currency exchange infrastructure, and procurement networks, even as the US military has increased its strikes, she said.
“Treasury is moving at an operational tempo, and combining military strikes with targeted sanctions could be a template for future conflicts,” Hoversen said.
Since the start of 2026, OFAC has sanctioned over 100 vessels linked to Iran’s shadow fleet, which has been used to keep oil revenue flowing despite international sanctions.
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