The U.S. naval blockade of Iran is holding and about to get tighter. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says unprecedented economic measures are coming next week as the Strait of Hormuz standoff hits a critical juncture.
The United States is about to tighten the economic vise on Iran like never before. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says a new wave of measures -- described as unprecedented in the history of economic isolation -- is coming next week, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth insists the U.S. Navy can sustain its blockade of Iranian ports indefinitely. The moves land as the memorandum of understanding signed between Washington and Tehran in June expires Sunday, leaving the Strait of Hormuz, the passageway for roughly a fifth of the world's oil and gas, at the center of a high-stakes standoff.
Bessent laid out the next phase of the pressure campaign in an interview Thursday night, promising action that would dwarf every previous sanctions effort.
"Watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation on a country," Bessent said.
The Treasury chief described the strategy as a one-two punch that pairs economic isolation with the continuing naval blockade of Iranian ports.
"It will be a combination of economic isolation the world has never seen before, and the continued blockade in the Strait of Hormuz that will keep anything from going in or out of the Iranian ports," he said.
Bessent framed the escalation as the latest chapter in a campaign that began more than a year ago. He said President Trump ordered maximum pressure on the Iranian regime in March 2025, and the Treasury has since gone after Iranian bank accounts, crypto wallets, and assets around the world while cutting off financial flows to regime leaders.
The shift has also been a change in weaponry. After the opening military phase of the conflict, which Bessent described as the transition from "Epic Fury" to "Economic Fury," the administration has leaned increasingly on financial warfare. "At the president's orders, we have raised the level even again," he said.
On the maritime side, Hegseth delivered a blunt message from Panama: the Navy is not going anywhere.
"Indefinitely, the United States Navy can maintain a blockade like that because we'll rotate ships in and out, as we have, and we'll continue to," Hegseth told reporters.
The blockade has already inflicted real damage. Iran closed the strait in early March shortly after the start of the war, and the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports has been in place since April 13, cutting off Tehran's main source of hard currency. The blockade was briefly lifted for a month in mid-June after the two sides signed their preliminary agreement, but it was reimposed in July after Iran opened fire on commercial vessels using a sea lane preferred by the United States.
Shipping through the waterway has slowed to a crawl. Just nine vessels transited the strait on Thursday, up from five the day before but still below the August average of twelve. Iran has lost billions of dollars in oil revenue during the standoff, and its economy is buckling under wartime inflation.
Iran's leaders are refusing to bend publicly. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps insists the strait is under the "complete management and control" of Iran and that no commercial ship or tanker can transit safely without its permission. Tehran is also shopping for lifelines, with its central bank chief saying Iran will soon join the BRICS New Development Bank, and Iranian diplomats negotiating with Oman over potential joint management of shipping routes.
The regime's defiance extends to its rhetoric. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi dismissed Trump's assertions of control over the waterway, saying the strait "cannot be seized by tweet, nor by aircraft carrier, nor by issuing an order, nor by an election speech."
Iranian aggression continues to test the standoff. Two tankers operated by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company came under attack while transiting the strait on Thursday evening, with the United Arab Emirates blaming Iran for drone strikes. No injuries were reported.
Trump has made clear that economic pain is the preferred weapon. He has threatened 25 percent tariffs on any country that buys Iranian goods or services, directly or indirectly -- a warning aimed squarely at China, Iran's largest trading partner. He also posted on Truth Social that the blockade is being called "a WALL OF STEEL" that Iran can do nothing about.
Vice President JD Vance outlined the administration's goals this week: stabilize American energy prices, stop Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons, and emerge from the conflict in a position of strength. With oil markets already skittish, the pressure campaign is designed to squeeze Iran without driving global prices through the roof.
The president has also pointed to Iran's internal strains as evidence the strategy is working. In recent days he noted Tehran's "huge inflation" and the fact that the regime "has no money," a blunt assessment of an economy cut off from its primary revenue stream. The USS George Washington is heading to the region to relieve the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has spent more than eight months at sea supporting the campaign -- a reminder of the scale of the American commitment.
The next few days could reshape the conflict. The memorandum of understanding signed June 17 -- which committed Iran to using its best efforts to keep the waterway open -- is set to expire Sunday, and neither side has formally walked away from diplomacy. If no extension is announced, the uneasy state of neither war nor peace could continue, with renewed attacks always possible.
Speaking at a rally in Garden City, New York, on Friday, Trump projected total confidence about the outcome.
"After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, pretty soon I'll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States," Trump said. "It's true."
Watch for three things in the days ahead: the new sanctions wave Bessent has promised, any movement on extending the memorandum before Sunday, and how oil markets react to the escalating pressure. If Tehran blinks, the blockade could become a negotiating lever for a durable settlement. If it does not, the economic vise only gets tighter.
The U.S. naval blockade of Iran is holding and about to get tighter. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says unprecedented economic measures are coming next week as the Strait of Hormuz standoff hits a critical juncture.
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