United States Threatens Sanctions on Countries Doing Business With Iran
U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that the “economic D-Day” measures, intended to isolate the Iranian economy, would impose secondary sanctions on foreign countries doing business with Iran (NYT). The Treasury Department also expanded sanctions authority to cover digital assets, technology, gold, aviation, and shipping—sectors Bessent said have been vital to sustaining the Iranian war economy (Newsweek). Additionally, the department issued sanctions on nearly sixty corporations, individuals, and shadow-fleet vessels (CBC).
Bessent did not specify which countries would be affected by secondary sanctions or set a deadline for compliance, though he previewed a sanctions announcement on a financial institution by the end of the week (Reuters). Bessent said President Donald Trump would call foreign leaders to demand that they cease trading with Iran (NBC).
The ratcheting up of economic pressure, which Trump threatened on Truth Social last week, marks a shift in strategy, as negotiations over ending the war remain stalled (CBS).
Iran said it would retaliate in a “seismic manner” against the Trump administration’s efforts (NPR).
U.S. Announces New Economic Operation Against Iran
U.S. President Donald Trump announced “the most crushing economic operation ever mounted” against Iran; Trump said in a social media post that the United States will sanction Iran and severely financially penalize any country that helps Iran evade those sanctions or offers Iran economic assistance (CNBC). Iran’s military chief warned that the country will treat any of its neighboring states, such as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, or others which facilitate or assist in U.S. military operations against Iran as full participants in the conflict (Middle East Eye).
United Arab Emirates Suspends Trade With Iran
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) accused Iran of firing two ballistic missiles at the small Gulf state; following the incident, the UAE halted all trade, commercial exchanges, and financial transactions with Iran (Al Jazeera). U.S. President Donald Trump posted a map on social media depicting the Strait of Hormuz labeled as a U.S. territory; Trump claimed that all mines had been removed from the waterway, the Strait was open and operating, the U.S. naval blockade in the region remained in full effect, and that the United States and Iran were not in peace talks as of Tuesday (Euro News).
Trump Threatens Oman as U.S.-Iran Peace Deal Deadline Expires
The sixty-day deadline for a settlement laid out in June’s memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran expired with no agreement in place; U.S. President Donald Trump said he was in no rush to make a deal and stated his administration has opened a backchannel with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a claim the IRGC denies (CNN). With the passage of the deadline, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of Iran’s Parliament Speaker and lead negotiator, declared a military and political victory over the United States and Israel (Al Jazeera). Omani and Iranian officials have been in talks to establish shipping lanes through the Strait of Hormuz; Iran’s foreign minister claimed the two neighboring states had reached an understanding (The Hill). Trump warned that the United States will bomb Oman if it obstructs U.S. efforts to reopen the Strait (WaPo). Also on Monday, Iranian drones struck the office of the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan region of Iraq (The National). An Iranian official denied responsibility, calling the strike a “false-flag ploy” (ISNA).
Iran Says Strait of Hormuz Under Its Control
Iran’s Basij paramilitary chief said that the Strait of Hormuz is “under Iran’s control and management,” one day after President Trump wrote on social media that the United States had “total control” of the passage (Reuters).
Strait of Hormuz Traffic Reaches Near Three-Month Low
Ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz reached a five-day average of around thirteen, representing a near three-month low, according to data from Kpler (CNBC).
Iran Says Strait of Hormuz Will Remain Closed Until U.S. Meets Demands
Iran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States removes its blockade of Iranian ports, pays compensation for its war damage, lifts sanctions, and releases Iran’s frozen assets, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said (AP).
Iran Appoints New National Security Adviser
Iran appointed Mohsen Rezaei, a former Revolutionary Guards commander and adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, as its new secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (NYT).
Separately, President Donald Trump said in a phone interview with Axios that the United States is “low-keying it” in its approach to Iran as economic pressure mounts on the country (Reuters).
U.S. Official Says Hormuz Deal Expected Soon
A U.S. official said that Iran and Oman are making progress on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and that the United States will lift its blockade of Iranian ports once commercial shipping is fully restored (Reuters).
Draft Iran-Oman Deal Grants Iran Hormuz Control
Iran and Oman are in the final stages of drafting a deal to grant Tehran control over ships entering the Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz, a senior Iranian source and two regional officials said (Reuters).
Trump Says Strait of Hormuz May Open While Iran Denies Talks
President Donald Trump suggested the Strait of Hormuz could open soon, while Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters that Iran was not holding talks with the United States (Guardian).
Separately, Iran’s judiciary said it executed two men convicted of spying for Israel during last year’s twelve-day war and the ongoing conflict (AP).
Trump Says U.S. Will Hold Off on Attacking Iran
In a social media post, President Donald Trump wrote that Iran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked for time to complete a deal that would halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions and reopen the Strait of Hormuz; he also said that the United States would refrain from attacking Iran as long as a deal could be reached quickly (Reuters).
Trump Considers New Strikes on Iran
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed the Trump administration’s frustration with Iran, saying that Iran will “continue to pay” until it signs a deal with the United States (AP).
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said it had struck another two tankers attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz (CNBC).
Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said it intercepted drones over Kuwaiti airspace (Anadolu Agency).
U.S., Iran Trade Strikes
An Iranian strike hit a Chinese firm’s building in Kuwait, severely damaging it and killing a worker, Kuwait’s military said, hours after Jordan’s air defenses shot down missiles launched from Iran (AP).
The attacks came after the U.S. military said it completed “a heavy wave of strikes against Iran” in response to an earlier Iranian missile attack on a U.S. base in Jordan (BBC).
Trump Issues Warning to Iran Following Strikes
President Trump said Iran would “get a beating” in response to a “surprise” attack against U.S. forces, which ended a days-long pause in direct military action between the two countries; global oil prices climbed more than 7 percent following his remarks (FT).
Saudi Arabia Joins U.S. Strikes on Iran-Backed Militias in Iraq
The United States partnered with Saudi Arabia to strike Iranian-backed militias in neighboring Iraq, killing at least twenty fighters and six Iranian advisers; the strikes marked Saudi Arabia’s entry into the war after six months (AP).
U.S., Iran Pause Strikes After Thirteen Days
After thirteen successive nights, the United States halted its bombing campaign against Iran, and Iran said it would suspend its own attacks for as long as the U.S. pause endures (Reuters).
Iran said it was still in control of the Strait of Hormuz and not seeking to resume peace talks with the United States (DW).
U.S. Defense Secretary Estimates War in Iran Has Cost $37.5 Billion
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth testified before the Senate, detailing the Trump administration’s supplemental funding request for $67 billion to help cover the cost of the Iran conflict and replenish military supplies, as well as a request for $1.5 trillion to fund the Department of War in the next fiscal year; Hegseth estimated that the war in Iran has cost the U.S. $37.5 billion so far (AP)
Separately, President Donald Trump said that the United States currently has “no interest” in meeting with Iran for talks to end the war (AP)
U.S. Bombing of Iran Expands After Third Service Member Confirmed Dead
The United States conducted a new round of airstrikes targeting Iran after confirming the death of another American service member; Iran responded by launching an attack targeting Bahrain and Kuwait (AP)
Two U.S. Service Members Killed in Iranian Strike
Two U.S. servicemembers were killed, and another is missing in action after an Iranian strike targeted a U.S. military base in Al-Azraq, Jordan; the attack marks the first U.S. military fatalities since March (CNN)
Iran Warns U.S. Interference in Strait of Hormuz Is a “Red Line”
Iran’s military spokesperson warned that the United States’ interference in the Strait of Hormuz is “Iran’s invincible red line,” as both sides continue to trade strikes across the region (AP)
Meanwhile, India ordered shipowners, ship managers, and recruitment companies not to deploy the country’s seafarers on vessels transiting through the Strait of Hormuz after an Indian seafarer who went missing a few days prior was confirmed dead (Reuters)
U.S. Strikes Against Iran Continue, Killing At Least Thirty
U.S. Central Command announced three waves of strikes against Iran and its enforcement of the naval blockade by disabling an oil tanker attempting to sail toward an Iranian port in the Arabian Gulf and redirecting two other commercial vessels (CENTCOM)
Iranian government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani said in a social media post that more than 30 people have been killed in recent attacks on Iran’s southern regions while Iranian Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour said separately that more than 260 people have been wounded; the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also claimed to have targeted U.S. military bases and assets in Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait in response to recent U.S. attacks (ABC)
Separately, Iran released a dual Iranian-American citizen who was charged with espionage and barred from leaving the country for over a year pending a trial; President Donald Trump announced the news in a social media post, praising the act of “goodwill” by Iran (NYT)
United States Enforces Naval Blockade Against Iranian Ports
U.S. Central Command announced two additional rounds of strikes against Iran to “continue degrading Iranian capabilities” used to attack commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz; they also began enforcing a naval blockade against Iranian ports and coastal areas, with more than twenty U.S. warships and hundreds of military aircraft deployed across the Middle East (CENTCOM)
President Donald Trump said that the military will continue to hit Iran “very hard” until it returns to the negotiating table, blaming Tehran for breaking its end of the deal (Fox News)
One day after proposing a fee for ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said the United States would instead guarantee safe passage to vessels from Persian Gulf states that agree to invest in the country (NYT)
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it launched simultaneous missile and drone attacks in Bahrain and Kuwait; Kuwait’s military said four members of its naval forces were injured in the attacks (Reuters)
Trump Announces Naval Blockade on Strait of Hormuz After U.S. and Iran Trade Strikes
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted U.S. military facilities across the Gulf in response to U.S. strikes; Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates reported being targeted by the Iranian strikes (Reuters)
In response, President Donald Trump announced that the United States would reinstate a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and charge a 20 percent toll on eligible cargo (AP)
Separately, two Iranian officials issued calls for revenge against the United States and Israel for killing the former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said revenge was “the right of the Iranian nation” (NYT)
DP World—an Emirati logistics company based in Dubai—shared its plans to build a new port and container terminal on the United Arab Emirates’ east coast to bypass the Strait of Hormuz (FT)
Traffic in Strait of Hormuz Reaches Lowest Level in a Month
Traffic in the Strait of Hormuz decreased significantly after Iran’s attack on a Cypriot-flagged container ship and the United States’ ensuing strikes; according to Kpler, a maritime data firm, only fourteen ships passed through the Strait on Sunday, the lowest level in a month (NYT)
U.S. Central Command reported completing an additional wave of strikes against Iran to “degrade” Iran’s ability to continue attacking international shipping flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, using one-way attack sea drones for the “first time” (CENTCOM)