The US administration has announced the launch of an “economic D‑Day” against Iran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Washington is entering the final phase of the confrontation and is preparing the toughest sanctions in history. He warned that any country maintaining allied ties with Tehran will automatically be branded an international pariah. The official announcement of the restrictions package was expected on Monday.
Tehran responded immediately. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, warned that if the economic war continues, the Islamic Republic will strike back: not a single drop of oil will leave the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
The new escalation unfolds amid the collapse of June peace agreements. Although the Trump administration publicly declares a decisive victory over Iran and secure trade routes, the hard data tell a different story. Shipping activity in the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to negligible levels as shipowners fear sending tankers into a zone of potential attack.
By the end of the sixth month of the conflict, the crisis’s geography has widened. In August, Iran‑backed Houthi forces opened a new front, declaring a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia and beginning strikes on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Tehran is demanding that Washington lift the maritime blockade as a condition for resuming dialogue, but the summer truce has expired, and neither side has so far shown initiative to extend it.
