Iran has denounced expanded U.S. sanctions targeting its economy as unlawful and excessive, while signaling it may still be open to talks. Oil prices fell for a second day even as tensions persist around the Strait of Hormuz, where a tanker was struck by an unidentified projectile.
Iran's Foreign Ministry called the sanctions a threat to international law and said the dispute now extends beyond Iran itself. The statement came a day after U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled the measures, though he stopped short of the most punishing options available.
Treasury sanctions 60 individuals and entities
The Treasury Department announced new sanctions on 60 individuals, entities and vessels, but the list excluded the Chinese financial institutions suspected of facilitating Iran's oil trade. Bessent said countries that continued trading with Iran risked being forced out of the dollar-based financial system, though he declined to give a timeline or name targets.
China has been the biggest buyer of Iranian oil for several years, but the U.S. blockade of Iran's ports has cut those flows since Washington resumed the blockade in mid-July. Iranian Economy Minister Ali Madanizadeh said neither China nor Russia had accepted the U.S. measures, predicting other countries would resist them too.
Tanker struck near the Strait of Hormuz
An oil tanker was struck on Tuesday by an unidentified projectile and disabled about 9 nautical miles northeast of Oman's Ash Shishah, near the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said. The strait is a key route for crude oil and liquefied natural gas cargoes. It was previously a conduit for about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments before the conflict shut down most shipping through it.
Despite the incident, oil prices fell for a second day as traders brushed off the sanctions, though they remained wary of Iran's continued ability to disrupt shipping. Iran and Oman discussed a proposal for a joint temporary navigational corridor through the strait and a plan to clear it of mines. President Donald Trump repeated earlier assertions that all mines in the strait had been removed or detonated, adding that Iran had been told any ship placing new mines would be destroyed.
Signs of a return to mediation
A spokesperson for Iran's Revolutionary Guards vowed heavy blows to U.S. interests and energy chokepoints if Iran's infrastructure is threatened, even though there have been no major strikes for weeks. Still, mediator Pakistan made significant progress in the latest talks with Tehran, which focused on preventing further escalation and reopening the strait, according to the Pakistani military.
Abbas Golroo, head of the foreign relations committee in the Iranian parliament, said Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir delivered a message from the U.S. to Iran on Monday. According to Reuters: "It seems the main goal was to revive the stopped political process", Golroo told ISNA news agency. A Pakistani government source said Iran expressed a general willingness to resume peace talks on Monday, while voicing concern about the sanctions, adding that Pakistan told Iran the U.S. would reverse those decisions either before or during a new round of negotiations.
Source: Investing.com
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
