Washington/Singapore, Aug. 24 (SANA) US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would unveil a new package of sanctions against Iran on Monday, describing them as the “toughest in history,” as restrictions on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continued.
In an interview with CNBC, Bessent said he would outline Washington’s planned measures at a press conference, adding that the sanctions were part of what he described as “the greatest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world.”
In an article published by the Financial Times, Bessent described the forthcoming measures as “the single greatest financial offensive ever marshalled against an adversary.”
He said the administration of US President Donald Trump was demanding that Washington’s allies and other countries cease doing business with Iran, stressing that the United States would work to “crush the Iranian regime’s economy.”
Bessent’s remarks followed Trump’s announcement last week that the United States would launch against Iran “the most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country.” Trump also threatened severe financial sanctions against any country helping Tehran circumvent the sanctions.
Meanwhile, preliminary data from ship-tracking firm Kpler showed that fewer than 20 vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, with four transiting the waterway on Sunday and 13 on Saturday, Reuters reported.
The figures could be revised as some vessels switch off their transponders while passing through the strait, preventing them from appearing in tracking data.
Kpler data showed that six commodity vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on August 19, down from nine the previous day and below the preceding 10-day average of 11, amid continuing restrictions and risks to navigation through the waterway.
N.J/M.F
