The United States imposes sanctions on a “major” bank as part of economic pressure on Tehran

Besant: We will impose sanctions on a “major” bank as part of the American economic pressure on Tehran

Published 10 September 2026

Last updated 1 minute ago

Reading time: 6 minutes

US Treasury Secretary Scott Besent said on Thursday that President Donald Trump's administration will impose sanctions on a major bank next week, as part of continuing to exert economic pressure on Tehran to end the conflict that has been ongoing for more than six months.

Picent did not mention the name of the financial institution or the country to which it belongs during his appearance on Real America's Voice, but he said that this step would begin on Monday.

The move was originally scheduled for Friday, but was postponed on the anniversary of the September 11, 2001, attacks, Pisant said.

He added, "We will continue this process until everyone stops dealing with this system."

"We're going to make it so pointless that if you want to risk something that might kill your company, your person, your personal finances, do whatever you want. But we'll come after you," he said.

The United States has imposed a series of economic measures against Iran since the conflict began in February, focusing on oil exports, shipping networks, arms purchasing channels, financial intermediaries, digital assets and air links.

The Trump administration escalated its campaign last month in what Besant called “Operation Economic Exclusion,” imposing sanctions on nearly 60 entities, individuals and vessels and expanding the scope of secondary sanctions to include those doing business with Iran in sectors including shipping, aviation, technology, gold and digital assets.

On Thursday, the US Treasury Department announced the imposition of sanctions on entities and individuals in Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey, which it said supported the Lebanese Hezbollah and the Iraqi Hezbollah Brigades.

Skip the most read and keep reading

Most read

Most read end

The ministry added that it has begun rejecting the vast majority of pending applications to obtain licenses for transactions related to Iran, with approvals limited to exceptional circumstances.

Despite mounting pressure on Iran, President Trump predicted on Wednesday that the war would not end until after the US midterm elections scheduled for November.

Skip the podcast and keep reading

Worth paying attention to

An in-depth explanation of the most prominent events and topics, to help you understand the most important variables around you and their impact on your life

Episodes

End podcast

Tension is rising in the sea lanes, as Iran said it attacked twenty ships that attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, and announced the expansion of the “restricted zone” outside it, while Yemeni government sources reported that the Houthis had reached the Hanish Islands in the Red Sea, raising concerns about navigation near Bab al-Mandab.

The British Maritime Trade Operations Authority said Thursday that four unidentified projectiles hit two ships four nautical miles west of Khasab in the Sultanate of Oman, causing a fire to break out in one of the ships, while the condition of the other ship is not yet known.

The authority added that the captain of another ship reported seeing the projectiles hitting the two ships about six nautical miles north of his location.

“I think the war will end as soon as the elections are over,” Trump said, referring to Tehran, on Wednesday, “because they will not be able to hold out any longer.”

He made these statements while heading to Texas to attend the first conference held by the Republican Party for the midterm elections, and he repeated them during the conference, considering that the short-term economic suffering is worth enduring to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.

Trump is facing a decline in his popularity in opinion polls and pressure from within his Republican Party to end the war with Iran.

“Immediately after the election, oil prices will drop dramatically,” Trump told reporters, adding: “I think it will take a little longer, until after the midterm elections.”

He added that Iran is "trying hard to influence the elections so that a nice, weak group comes to power" - apparently referring to the Democrats - "and leaves them alone and allows them to have their nuclear weapons."

The US President did not provide any evidence for his claim regarding the elections, and Tehran has repeatedly denied seeking to possess nuclear weapons.

During the conference in Texas, Trump repeated some of these statements, saying that oil prices would fall sharply "once we win the war with Iran."

The American President initially expected that the war, which has entered its seventh month, would last only a few weeks, and the conflict and its repercussions on the prices of everything, from fuel to foodstuffs, led to a sharp decline in support for him, and pressure from within his party, including from his loyal supporters, to end the war quickly.

Midterm elections will be held on November 3, and Republicans face the risk of losing control of Congress.

Bombings in southern Lebanon

In southern Lebanon, Israel announced, on Thursday, the destruction of tunnels that it said Hezbollah had built under the Ali al-Tahir Heights in the Nabatieh region, with Iranian funding and planning.

The Lebanese National News Agency reported that a "huge explosion" had occurred in the highlands, causing strong vibrations and loud noises, while Agence France-Presse journalists reported hearing huge explosions.

The Israeli army said that the underground facilities extended for more than two kilometers, and included a command center for Hezbollah's "Badr" unit, as well as missiles, drones, weapons, and explosive devices.

Agence France-Presse reported that the US Geological Survey recorded a 4.1 magnitude earthquake in southern Lebanon following the explosions.

Expanding the scope of the "restricted zone"

In a measure that may impose additional complications on maritime traffic, the Revolutionary Guard announced the expansion of the “restricted zone” that ships are prohibited from entering without coordination with Tehran.

Guard spokesman Hussein Mohebi said, “It starts approximately from the Chabahar side (in southern Iran), and includes part of the Sea of ​​Oman and another part of the Arabian Sea along the path that leads to the Strait of Hormuz.”

He explained: "If a ship enters that area without coordination, punitive measures will be imposed on it. This means, for example, that if it later wants to use the Strait of Hormuz or if it wants to receive services in a certain location, such as insurance or other related services, we will refrain from providing these services."

Revolutionary Guard spokesman Hussein Mohebi said on Wednesday that Tehran’s demands to end the war include the withdrawal of Israeli forces from southern Lebanon and the release of about $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets.

In another development, Reuters reported from the Wall Street Journal on Thursday that Iran has resumed the production of ballistic missiles in underground facilities, according to American and Middle Eastern officials.

According to the newspaper, Tehran relies mainly on assembling missiles using stored components, in smaller quantities than it produced before the war.

The Houthi advance threatens navigation near Bab al-Mandab

In a development that threatens to further disrupt energy supply routes, two sources in the Yemeni government told Reuters that the Houthis have reached the Hanish Islands in the Red Sea, after taking control of the coastal city of Mokha, amid intensifying battles with government forces backed by Saudi Arabia.

The two sources added that the Houthi attacks pushed the government forces and their allies to retreat south towards Dhubab, overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait, one of the most important shipping lanes in the world. They said that controlling the flies and the corresponding Mion Island is essential for controlling the strait.

Saudi Arabia said that Houthi attacks on civilian and economic sites in the south of the Kingdom during the past days resulted in the injury of 73 people, including women and children. On the other hand, the Houthis announced that several areas in Yemen were subjected to Saudi raids, which Riyadh did not confirm.

On the diplomatic level, Saudi, Pakistani and Iranian sources told Reuters that Pakistan conveyed to Tehran a Saudi warning calling on it to curb the attacks of its Houthi allies on the Kingdom, in an attempt to contain the escalation.

A senior Iranian official confirmed that the message was conveyed on Tuesday, saying that Tehran's response was that it "does not control the Houthis." On the other hand, two Iranian sources told the agency that Tehran asked the group last week to attack Saudi Arabia, promising it additional funding and weapons, and that leaders in the Revolutionary Guard went to Yemen to help coordinate the attacks.