US Treasury Imposes New Sanctions on Iran-Linked Oil and Exchange Network; Bessent Says Hormuz Situation Will Not Return to Normal

The US Treasury Department imposed new sanctions on Friday, August 7, 2026 (16 Mordad 1405), on a number of companies, exchange houses and financial intermediaries linked to Iran. According to ISNA, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement that Iranian oil purchases by so called "teapot" refineries are a key economic lifeline for Iran. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said, per Anadolu, that the goal of the measures is to cut off Iran's "financial arteries" and close routes Washington alleges are used to evade sanctions.

The same day, in remarks carried by Khabaronline via Al Jazeera, Bessent described Washington's dual track approach in the war with Iran, claiming inflation in Iran has reached 150 to 180 percent and that its military is struggling to pay its forces. He also said the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will never return to what it was before the war, saying Iran had used the waterway as a chokepoint.