US Treasury to unveil sweeping Iran sanctions as rial hits record low

Iran's currency tumbled to a fresh record low Monday as the Trump administration prepared to roll out what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent called the single greatest financial offensive ever against Tehran. The rial fell to 2.02 million against the dollar in informal trading, far below the official Central Bank rate of around 1.5 million. Most Iranians rely on the open market rate for daily transactions, and the drop comes after months of double-digit inflation and economic contraction that began well before the current conflict.

The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28. Nearly six months later, the fighting continues with a U.S. naval blockade in place around Iranian ports. Washington has already imposed broad sanctions on Iran's banking, energy, and shipping sectors in what officials have labeled Operation Economic Fury. Bessent, writing in the Financial Times and posting on social media, framed the new measures as an economic D-Day that would sever every remaining lifeline to the Iranian regime. He warned that any nation continuing to do business with Tehran should expect similar isolation.

Iran has responded with sharp threats of its own. Security chief Mohsen Rezaei said that if Gulf neighbors join the American effort, not a drop of oil would leave the Persian Gulf. Tehran has already restricted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that carries roughly one-fifth of the world's traded oil before the war began. Iranian officials have also warned of an earthquake-like retaliation and described the sanctions push as economic terrorism that would only deepen global economic troubles.

President Trump has pressed for concessions that would end the blockade and restore free passage, yet Iran has maintained its grip on the strait. Reports indicate Iran and Oman are close to an agreement for joint management of the waterway, with ships entering through an Iranian-controlled route and exiting through one controlled by Oman. Trump has criticized the Omani government, an American ally, and threatened action if it interferes. Oman's foreign minister is scheduled to visit Iran for further talks this week.

Bessent is expected to detail the new sanctions at a press conference Monday afternoon. Previous rounds have already battered Iran's economy, but the rial's continued slide shows the limits of those efforts so far. The administration has missed a 60-day window for a formal ceasefire deal, leaving the conflict in a prolonged stalemate. Iranian leaders have dismissed the latest threats as diversions from America's own fiscal challenges and vowed to target other oil export routes if pressure mounts.