Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced sanctions on Tehran’s nautical authority that is seeking to establish control over the Strait of Hormuz, denouncing it as “maritime extortion.”The new sanctions were announced as part of Washington’s intensifying Operation Economic Fury, the effort to strangle Iran’s economy through economic and financial means. Iran has tried to maximize its one major trump card, proximity to the Strait of Hormuz, going so far as to assert complete control over the key waterway in recent weeks. To consolidate its claims of control, Tehran created the Persian Gulf Strait Authority, which was tasked with vetting vessels for approval through the waterway and collecting tolls for passage. The organization isn’t broadly recognized.In a statement, Bessent portrayed the establishment of the PGSA as proof that Operation Economic Fury was working.
“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash,” he said.
“Through Economic Fury, the United States has imposed a financial stranglehold on the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism,” he said. “Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions. Under President Trump’s leadership, we will remain relentless in our pursuit to constrict the network of vessels, intermediaries, and buyers through which Iran exports both its oil and malevolence.”
