10:45 - 15.07.2026

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July 15, Fineko/abc.az. The U.S. has stepped up economic sanctions against Iran and resumed a military blockade of the country after talks between the two states broke down amid new attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, Bloomberg reports.

On Tuesday, the Treasury Department announced new sanctions against the shipping network of Hossein Shamkhani, the secretive Iranian head of a business empire that, according to the department, conducts strategically important oil and weapons deals for Tehran and Moscow. More than 50 entities, including shipping companies, vessels, digital wallets, and individuals, were subject to the restrictions.

The U.S. also imposed sanctions on several cryptocurrency wallets allegedly linked to the Iranian Central Bank, blocking over $130 million, as announced by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on social media.

"The Treasury Department is shutting down the financial infrastructure that allows the regime to continue threatening U.S. national security and global shipping," he said.

The measures were taken in response to Trump's reinstatement of the blockade on ships traveling to and from Iranian ports and coastal areas.