Washington readies unprecedented Iran sanctions and redesignates Hezbollah
The US Treasury will announce "the toughest sanctions in history" against Iran and targeted networks moving cash to Hezbollah, as Tehran rejected the economic threats as failed policies.
Geopolitics··Night
Treasury targets Tehran
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, who will detail the package at a press conference on Monday, described it as a one-two punch alongside the blockade, and said it is time for our allies and the rest of the world to make a decision. In an interview with CNBC, Bessent said we have the blockade, and we are going to have the toughest sanctions in history, adding that the sanctions would work in Iran and we are going to collapse this regime. Noting that China obtains about half of its energy from the Gulf, he offered Beijing a deal — cooperation in exchange for the Strait of Hormuz staying open and lower energy prices — and cited 2025 data putting China's share of Iran's shipped oil above 80 percent.[1]
Hezbollah re-designated
The Treasury re-designated Hezbollah for service to the Iranian regime under the command of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force, and added 10 individuals accused of smuggling cash for the group to its sanctions list. The Thursday move re-lists the group under terrorism authority first applied in 2001; the step is intended to tie the designation to activities carried out on behalf of the Qods Force and to show that Hezbollah is acting on behalf of the Iranian government. In a separate action, 10 individuals were sanctioned for their roles in transferring more than 1 billion dollars from Iran's Revolutionary Guards to Hezbollah since January 2025 through networks of licensed and unlicensed money changers.[2]
Iran dismisses threats
Abbas Araghchi called the announcement a diversion from America's own crisis: unprecedented debt and surging interest costs, while state broadcaster IRIB attributed the remarks to the failure of military aggression. In a social-media post, Araghchi wrote that doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat — and enmity of Iranians. The semi-official Tasnim agency said Tehran had already developed sophisticated methods to circumvent longstanding American financial and economic restrictions.[3]
