WASHINGTON -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday that new U.S. sanctions aim to block all potential sources of revenue for Iran and told nations to cut economic ties to Tehran or face retaliation. Bessent said it’s “no longer acceptable to operate in the gray spaces” of the conflict. He did not name what countries could face potential secondary sanctions from the United States, but China, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates are Iran’s largest trade partners. “Let there be no ambiguity as to the position of the United States,” Bessent told a news conference. “An economic engagement of any kind with this murderous regime will expose those responsible to the full reach of American power.” Washington has said the new sanctions aim to put more pressure on an economy already battered by previous sanctions and a U.S. naval blockade. Iranian currency falls to a record low Bessent made the announcement as Iran’s currency hit a record low. The rial dropped to 2.02 million to the U.S. dollar as trading opened on currency markets. Iran’s official Central Bank rate stood at around 1.5 million rial to the dollar, but the market rate is what most Iranians pay. The currency had already been under pressure before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, as Iran faced double-digit inflation and negative growth. The rial has repeatedly hit new lows as nearly six months of war have taken an even greater toll. Iranians find daily staples increasingly unaffordable. Since the war began, rice is up some 60 per cent and beef prices are more than 150 per cent higher. The International Monetary Fund forecasts that gross domestic product will contract more than five per cent. Still, economic pressure has not yet translated into political pressure. Iran retains a key strategic advantage: Its attacks and threats on ships in the Strait of Hormuz have brought traffic in the vital waterway to a near halt, damaging the world economy and heaping pressure on U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of congressional elections. The war, as a result, has devolved into a fight over who controls the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil transited before the conflict. Iran is now refusing to fully reopen it unless it can charge ships. Iran and Oman, which is on the opposite side of the strait, are reportedly in the final stages of agreeing on a plan for joint management of the waterway. Oman’s foreign minister is set to visit Iran on Tuesday. Administration seeks leverage with stronger sanctions In an attempt to break the impasse, the administration promised even stronger sanctions, including secondary sanctions on countries that continue to do business with Iran. Ahead of the announcement, Trump posted on social media that “IRAN IS COMPLETELY COLLAPSING!!!” “President Trump decimated Iran’s economy to a point where the rial has never been weaker and inflation has rarely been higher,” Bessent wrote Sunday in an opinion piece in the Financial Times. “The regime’s final refuge now lies in the self-deception of fearful nations that still believe accommodating aggression can secure a durable peace.” Already last week, the United Arab Emirates announced that it was suspending all trade with Iran. The UAE has long been one of Iran’s largest trading partners and its biggest source of imports. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran on Monday that “any escalation of this situation will undoubtedly bring about consequences.” “Our hands are not tied,” he added. Pakistani delegation visits Iran Pakistan, which played a key role in brokering a 60-day ceasefire in June, sent a high-level delegation to Iran on Monday to encourage the U.S. and Iran to return to negotiations, two senior officials said. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media on the record. The military confirmed only Field Marshal Asim Munir’s visit, saying it was aimed at de-escalating tensions in the region. Trump spoke with Munir ahead of the army chief’s visit to Iran, according to a person familiar with the discussion. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to confirm a private conversation. Reuters, citing Pakistani sources, first reported the call. Munir met Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni in Tehran, according to the two senior officials. Munir was accompanied by Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and other officials. Munir was expected to remain in Iran overnight and meet the Iranian president and other senior officials before returning to Pakistan. His previous visit to Tehran in May helped pave the way for a memorandum of understanding signed by the U.S. and Iran in June. In downtown Tehran, 73-year-old Sadegh Mahmoudi did not hold out hope for a resolution. He joined a line of about a dozen people to purchase U.S. dollars with his remaining savings to hedge against further declines. “There is no hope for a deal and peace,” he said. ------ By Farnoush Amiri, Christopher Rugaber And Aamer Madhani Amiri reported from New York. Associated Press writers Nasser Karimi in Tehran, Iran; David Rising in Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Seung Min Kim in Washington; and Munir Ahmed in Islamabad contributed.
