The United States has announced new economic sanctions on Iran targeting aviation, digital assets, gold, technology and shipping, as well as 60 named individuals and vessels. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the measures on Monday alongside a naval blockade of Iranian ports, calling the action an “economic D-Day” as the US war on Iran nears six months.
The measures also expose Iran’s trading partners to possible secondary penalties, according to Bessent. Washington has indefinitely suspended broad exceptions covering academic exchanges, personal money transfers and certain sporting activities; organisations using those exceptions have until September 8 to wind down their operations.
What the sanctions target
The Treasury Department says the new measures are aimed at revenue and supply networks linked to Iran. Shipping sanctions target Iran’s state-linked fleet, which the department alleges transports oil and sensitive weapons components. Aviation sanctions target Iranian airlines accused of moving weapons, military personnel and financial resources to Iran’s proxies.
The technology measures seek to restrict Iran’s access to materials that could be used in weapons programmes. Treasury also says Iran has used cryptocurrency to bypass longstanding sanctions and support transactions involving the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and regime members, while gold has been used to help support the value of Iran’s currency. The listed ships are based in or associated with countries including Singapore, China and Hong Kong.
Related coverage: US markets absorb losses as Trump threatens Iran sanctions.
How the pressure has built
US sanctions on Iran date back to 1979, after students took hostages at the US Embassy in Tehran. They were briefly paused after the 2015 nuclear agreement, but the Trump administration withdrew from that deal in 2018 and restored earlier penalties while adding new ones.
Washington sanctioned 30 individuals and vessels linked to Iranian petroleum sales and transport in February 2025, followed by 29 vessels accused of belonging to an Iranian petroleum “shadow fleet” in December 2025. In April 2026, the Treasury targeted another two dozen people, companies and vessels connected to the oil-shipping network of Mohammad Hossein Shamkhani. Later that month, it also targeted what it called regime-linked cryptocurrency and said it had seized nearly half a billion dollars from shadow-banking networks.
Why consumers and markets are watching
China is the primary destination for Iranian oil, buying roughly 90 percent of Iran’s crude exports and 1.4 million barrels per day in 2025, according to the source material. The Strait of Hormuz previously carried roughly one-fifth of global oil flows before Iran choked off the route, tightening global supply and adding pressure to fuel and food prices.
More context: Understanding economic trends beyond stock markets during the US-Israel war on Iran.
In the United States, the average petrol price was reported at $4.09 a gallon, up from $2.98 on February 28, when the US and Israel first struck Iran. John Deal of Post Oak Group said prices could rise quickly if sanctions trigger retaliation against Gulf shipping, reduce oil exports, or lead insurers and shipping companies to avoid the region. He identified potential effects on gasoline, diesel, airfares, freight costs and inflation.
Markets responded unevenly on Monday. Gold rose 0.8 percent to $4,639.49 an ounce, while Brent crude fell more than 2 percent to $85.22 a barrel. The Nasdaq declined 0.5 percent and the S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent, while the Dow rose 0.2 percent; major oil companies including Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP and Shell also declined.
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