US broadens Iran secondary sanctions

The U.S. Treasury is expected to broaden the scope of secondary sanctions it can impose on entities and countries that maintain business ties with Iran, as the Trump administration seeks to increase economic pressure on Tehran. The action is aimed at giving a final warning to countries to sever their business ties with Iran in an effort to force an end to the nearly six-month conflict that has bottled up the Strait of Hormuz and Gulf energy exports. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is expected to announce more details at a press conference, providing a broader overview of an economic pressure campaign against Iran that he and President Donald Trump have described as an 'economic D-Day.' The sanctions would make it clear that countries must side with the U.S. or risk having key companies and entities cut off from the dollar-based financial system. The Treasury has already sanctioned Chinese 'teapot' refineries for purchasing Iranian oil and expanded targeting of the shadow fleet of tankers. A more powerful tool would be sanctioning banks in China and other countries facilitating transactions with Iran, a step the administration has so far been unwilling to take amid a delicate trade truce with Beijing. The U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports has already curbed Chinese offers to purchase Iranian crude.