U.S. Escalates Sanctions and Blockade on Iran

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated on May 3, 2026, that the United States is intensifying economic pressure on Iran through a campaign called Economic Fury, combined with a naval blockade, leaving the regime unable to pay its soldiers and facing an imminent oil production crisis.

In an interview on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures, Bessent described the effort as a shift from a year-long "marathon" to a final "sprint toward the finish line." He said the measures, ordered by President Donald Trump starting with a maximum pressure directive in March and escalated three weeks ago, include sanctions targeting Iran's shadow banking networks, cryptocurrency access, oil exports, shadow fleet operations, weapons procurement, and funding for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, or IRGC. "We are suffocating the regime," Bessent said. "This is a real economic blockade."

The Treasury Department has designated 35 entities and individuals under existing executive orders, bringing the total number of Iran-related targets past 1,000 since late February. Officials report disrupting tens of billions of dollars in revenue that could have funded regional proxies. Iran's main oil export...