US set to unveil fresh Iran sanctions as rial hits record low

Patrick Sykes and Eric Martin, Bloomberg News on Aug 24, 2026

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U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to announce a fresh set of economic measures against Iran, as Washington pivots from strike threats to tougher sanctions as a way to end the near six-month war.

Bessent will unveil details of a plan to more effectively isolate the Islamic Republic later Monday, building on already extensive sanctions that have been in place for decades. It’s unclear what will be announced, but the move may impact some of Iran’s largest trading partners, including China, Turkey and India.

The United Arab Emirates said last week it had cut all economic ties with Tehran, as U.S. Gulf allies give Washington’s strategy a boost.

Iran’s currency weakened to an all-time low against the dollar, having fallen 4.5% since U.S. President Donald Trump announced last week he was planning to escalate economic pressure on Tehran.

“The world should understand that our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains the tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone,” Bessent wrote in the Financial Times.

The U.S. is striving to push Iran to accept an end to the war on its terms, having failed to do so with an extensive military campaign. The Iranian economy is already under immense strain, with a U.S. naval blockade severely curtailing crucial oil exports.

Annual inflation is above 80% and the currency has weakened to an all-time low against the dollar, piling pressure on the population of 90 million people. The rial is down 4.5% since U.S. President Donald Trump announced last week he was planning to escalate economic pressure on Tehran.

Iran has proven adept at weathering sanctions in the past and the U.S. move risks being met with a fresh round of military action. Tehran, which bombarded U.S. allies in the Persian Gulf with thousands of missiles and drones after the start of the war in late February, vowed to retaliate against any country that supports Washington’s plans.

“Iran will regard any country’s participation in or support for America’s economic war against the Iranian people as an act of war,” Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, wrote on X late Sunday.

The result will be that “not a single drop of oil will be exported, neither through the Strait of Hormuz nor from anywhere in the Persian Gulf,” he said.

The U.K. Navy said a tanker was struck by an unknown projectile on Monday about 63 nautical miles west of Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu, causing a fire on the main deck. All crew are safe, with no environmental impact.

Iran’s oil shipments to Asia have already all but dried up, after the U.S. blockade of ports in the Islamic Republic left loaded vessels trapped inside the Gulf and a fleet of empty ones stuck outside. As a result, the cost of those cargoes jumped to the highest levels in years, according to traders involved in negotiations.

Last week, Iran’s Central Bank Governor, Abdolnaser Hemmati, said his country’s crude exports have “virtually stopped.”

China said any U.S. sanctions will only worsen tensions with Iran and won’t serve any side’s interests. The nation, which buys the bulk of Iranian oil, will “take necessary measures to safeguard its legitimate rights and interests,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian said.

To date, U.S. efforts to isolate Iran have focused on lower profile players in the oil sector, sanctioning smaller private refineries, ports and agents — all while holding off heavy-handed enforcement. The aim is to apply pressure without hurting relations with Beijing or driving up the oil price.

Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts to ease tensions continue.

Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir, one of the main interlocutors in talks to end the war, is visiting Tehran on Monday for talks with senior local officials, the military’s media wing said in a statement on Monday. Munir is accompanied by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.

Oman’s foreign minister will visit Tehran the following day for talks between the two states that border the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Foreign Minister spokesman Esmail Baghaei said.