US threatens Iran with sweeping new isolation measures next week
What's new: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent tied the pressure campaign to a blockade keeping goods from Iranian ports.
The United States threatened Iran with a new round of punitive measures, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying Aug. 13 that Washington would pursue economic isolation on a scale "the world has never seen before." Bessent told Newsmax that additional steps are expected next week and described a two-part strategy of financial pressure and a blockade that would keep goods from entering or leaving Iranian ports through the Strait of Hormuz. The tougher line marked a sharp shift from Bessent's Aug. 4 remarks to CNBC, when he said an agreement with Tehran to reopen the waterway could come within days. Vice President JD Vance separately said lowering oil and gasoline prices for Americans was the administration's top priority.