US Treasury Secretary: New Bank Sanctions Against Iran to Be Announced This Week

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday, September 1, 2026, on the sidelines of the G20 finance ministers' meeting in North Carolina, that Washington is likely to announce a new bank sanction against Iran this week, with another to follow the week after. He described the goal as economically "asphyxiating" Iran's leadership, saying the Treasury is now using five new authorities across digital assets, aviation and maritime sectors, including the shutdown of a Dubai branch of an Egyptian bank he said had funneled more than 1.8 billion dollars to Iran. Citing the rial's fall from roughly 800,000 to the dollar in spring 2025 to more than 2 million now, Bessent said the campaign is coordinated with the EU, the European Central Bank, the UK, the UAE and Bahrain.