U.S. to Launch 'Greatest Financial Offensive' Against Iran as Tehran Threatens Ship Seizures

WASHINGTON —

The United States plans to announce what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called "the single greatest financial offensive ever" against Iran on Monday, according to CNBC, as Tehran threatened to seize ships that violate its rules for passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

The announcement comes after both countries missed a 60-day ceasefire window meant to end the war in the Middle East, now in its sixth month, CNBC reported. In a post on social media Sunday night, Bessent wrote that "at dawn begins an economic D-Day," describing the coming sanctions as the endgame of Washington's pressure campaign against Iran, CNBC reported.

The measures will build on sanctions that already target Iran's banks, energy exports, airlines and cryptocurrency dealings. The Trump administration says Iran's economy is in freefall, pointing to high inflation and a falling currency. The Iranian rial hit a new low on the open market Sunday, with a dollar buying more than 2 million rials, according to Gulf News, as reported by CNBC.

Bessent also cautioned that any country acting as a financial lifeline for Tehran should expect to face isolation of its own, CNBC reported. Writing in the Financial Times, he accused unnamed governments of buying and shipping Iranian oil, moving Iranian money through exchange houses and free trade zones, and hiding fuel transfers at sea.

Iran Warns Neighbors and Threatens Ships

Iran has warned Gulf states against joining the U.S. sanctions effort. Mohsen Rezaei, the newly appointed secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said Saturday that any country that helps tighten economic restrictions on Iran will be treated as an enemy, according to comments he made to Iran's state broadcaster and reported by CNBC.

Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority, a state body, warned Sunday that ships breaking its transit rules in the Strait of Hormuz could face fines, seizure or confiscation on future trips, CNBC reported. Iran's parliament also approved a measure Sunday requiring ships passing through the strait to pay for services Iran provides, though the legislation still needs final approval, according to local media cited by CNBC.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the threat of new U.S. sanctions as a "desperate" move that would fail, CNBC reported. Oman's foreign minister, Sayyid Badr Albusaidi, is due in Tehran on Tuesday for talks with Araghchi on the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran's Foreign Ministry.

Pakistan's army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, was also expected in Tehran on Monday to discuss the conflict and Pakistan's mediation efforts, Iran's Foreign Ministry said, according to The Straits Times. Pakistan has been mediating talks between Iran and the United States since a war that began in February with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, The Straits Times reported.

Oil prices slipped in Asian trading Monday despite the tension. U.S. crude fell about 1.3 percent to $85.93 a barrel, and Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped the same amount to $93.22 a barrel, CNBC reported. Britain's maritime trade agency said it recorded no confirmed attacks in the strait over the previous 48 hours, though it warned of drifting or uncharted mines in the area, according to CNBC.