The United States on Friday imposed additional targeted Iran-related sanctions, days after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened further action as Washington’s ongoing war with Iran entered its sixth month.
The Trump administration plans to impose restrictions on an Egyptian bank over its business dealings with Tehran and revoke US financial access to Banque Misr’s branches in the United Arab Emirates. The Financial Times earlier reported the planned action.
The official said the proposed rule, if finalised, would revoke Banque Misr UAE’s correspondent banking access to US financial institutions.
Separately, Treasury officials imposed sanctions on one Hong Kong-based entity and one person linked to Iran’s Bank Melli, according to a notice posted on the Department of Treasury’s website.
Iran has urged other nations not to join the new US sanctions.
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Iran condemned US’ new sanctions
Iran condemned the United States’ new economic sanctions on Friday as “state terrorism” and said other countries were legally obliged not to implement them, while the US Treasury Department announced additional targeted Iran-related measures, according to a Reuters report.
The Iranian foreign ministry’s statement came as mediators stepped up efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which handled 20% of world oil supplies before the war began six months ago and whose status remains the biggest obstacle to a peace deal.
President Donald Trump’s administration on Monday warned countries to cut their business ties with Iran or face secondary sanctions as part of what it billed as an “economic D-Day,” though the Treasury Department stopped short of actually imposing penalties.
Trump reiterated on Thursday that the US was not talking with Iran, while the White House said Washington’s economic campaign would continue until Tehran decided to “come to the table in a meaningful way”.
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Iran’s Foreign Ministry on US sanctions
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday that all countries were obligated under international law to refrain from implementing US sanctions against Tehran, adding that participation in them amounted to complicity in imposing one state’s unlawful will on independent states.
It branded the new US measures a “crime against humanity” that put the health and livelihood of millions of civilians at serious risk, and called on other nations and United Nations bodies to uphold the rule of law.
What is happening?
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Friday described his talks with Al Thani as “creative”, while again urging the US to end its military and economic pressure on Iran and return to negotiations.
“Putting diplomacy back on track isn’t impossible. It hinges on U.S. understanding of one simple fact: pressure doesn’t work,” Araqchi said on X.
Qatar, a US ally, and Pakistan helped broker a memorandum of understanding in June that resulted in a ceasefire, but it soon unravelled amid disagreements between Iran and the US over the Strait of Hormuz.
