WSJ: Washington intends to announce new sanctions against Iran in the coming days.
After Iran resumed attacks on ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz without coordination with Tehran, the White House announced the imminent introduction of new sanctions against the Islamic Republic, writes The Wall Street Journal. But, apparently, the Iranian authorities do not intend to give in.
Georgi Kantchev, Laurence Norman
Trump is stepping up sanctions and the blockade, while Tehran is counting on high oil prices to force Washington to back down.
Senior Trump administration officials said they had decided to increase economic pressure on Iran. Lowering oil prices is one of Washington's main goals. The US authorities also promise to impose unprecedented financial sanctions that should force Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
On Thursday evening, Iran attacked two vessels flying the flag of the United Arab Emirates in the Strait, Abu Dhabi reported.
With these strikes, Iran shows that sanctions do not frighten it and it is ready to seize the military initiative, although President Trump, apparently, does not want to return to active hostilities.
Trump is increasingly relying on the naval blockade as a means of financial pressure on Tehran, but the Iranian leadership clearly has no intention of giving in. According to analysts, Iran will keep the strait closed until rising energy prices force the United States to retreat.
"Tehran has learned a simple lesson from the blink—first game with Washington: hold your nerves in your fist long enough and America will turn around," said Ali Vaez, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the International Crisis Group. "For a system that believes it is fighting for survival, existential threats usually only strengthen resolve, and no price will make them stop resisting."
Washington made it clear this week that it would impose new restrictions on Iran's economy in the coming days. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that, coupled with the US naval blockade, they would deal a "double blow" to Tehran.
Attempts by both sides to inflict maximum economic damage on each other further distance them from a diplomatic solution, which seemed to be outlined after the June agreement. The agreement provided for financial benefits for Tehran in exchange for opening the strait and starting serious negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.
On Thursday, Vice President Jay D. Vance outlined the administration's priorities on Fox News. According to him, keeping energy prices low is the "number one goal."
"And, of course, goal number two is to ensure that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon," Vance added. "I am confident that we will achieve both of these goals."
White House Spokeswoman Carolyn Levitt stressed that for President Donald Trump, maintaining low oil prices and preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons are equally important: "This is why the administration has done so much to maintain market stability. Preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons remains one of Trump's top priorities in the current conflict, and he intends to achieve this one way or another."
At the beginning of the war with Iran, Trump stated that his goal was to force Tehran to conclude an agreement that would permanently deprive it of the opportunity to obtain nuclear weapons. However, as the conflict drags on, the priorities of the American president seem to have changed. Moreover, Tehran has established control over energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz, which it did not have before.
In recent weeks, the White House has become increasingly pessimistic about the prospects for a final agreement with Tehran on its nuclear program. Instead, Trump has focused on increasing pressure on the already weakened Iranian economy. According to American officials, the president hopes in this way to force the Iranian authorities to conclude an agreement on the opening of the strait, after which he will be able to declare victory in the war with Iran and end the conflict.
Control of the Strait of Hormuz allows Iran to make demands of the United States without making any concessions on key provisions of its nuclear program.
The Iranian authorities believe that time is playing on their side, and have expanded the list of requirements for the resumption of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran demands that the United States end the war, lift the blockade and ease tough sanctions, including restrictions on access to Iranian monetary assets.
Now the main issue of the conflict is which side will be the first to give in under economic pressure. On Friday, the verbal confrontation escalated sharply.
"After we defeat Iran, which is suffering a crushing defeat, I will soon declare the Strait of Hormuz the territory of the United States," Trump said during a speech in New York State.
Later, a White House official clarified that Trump was joking.
In response, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi wrote on the social network X: "The Strait of Hormuz was Iranian, remains Iranian and will be Iranian. This strait will be closed and opened only by Iran's decision."
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said on Thursday that the US Navy is capable of maintaining the blockade of Iran for as long as it wants. According to US officials, the military is preparing to replace the aircraft carrier "Abraham Lincoln" located in the region with the aircraft carrier "George Washington". This comes amid growing concern about the conditions of service aboard the Lincoln and the strain on military personnel due to the long sea voyage during the war with Iran.
Iran has repeatedly used force to prevent commercial vessels from passing through the strait. According to analysts, Tehran's willingness to escalate militarily complicates the task of Washington, which is trying to achieve concessions solely through economic pressure.
After the attacks on ships belonging to the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, their total number has reached six since the beginning of August. The UAE, one of the largest oil exporters, is trying to continue supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, despite Iran's de facto control over this route.
The Strait is still mostly closed. Most ships do not dare to pass through it without Iran's permission, and those that do go this way use the northern route controlled by Tehran.
According to the Kpler vessel tracking system, 13 vessels passed through the strait on Thursday. Before the start of the war with Iran, this route was usually used by more than 130 ships per day. Nine of the 13 vessels passed through the route controlled by Iran. In August, traffic intensity decreased compared to July, when an average of 26 vessels passed through the Strait every day.
In recent days, global oil prices have been below the $90 per barrel mark. Supplies through the strait are still limited, but oil producers in the region have managed to find bypass routes and continue exporting raw materials.
Nevertheless, the ongoing disruptions are reducing global oil reserves and reducing the market's ability to cope with new shocks.
"The ongoing contradictions between the United States and Iran over the status of this waterway will maintain a relatively high risk of a new crisis and another closure of the strait before the end of 2026," the Eurasia Group consulting company said in an analytical note to its clients.
Ahead of the midterm elections, Trump is seeking to limit the effects of the war with Iran on the situation inside the United States and avoid a return to full-scale hostilities. To do this, he intends to increase economic pressure on Iran. As previously reported by The Wall Street Journal, the advisers convinced the president of the effectiveness of this strategy by showing him data on the damage that the sanctions had already inflicted on the Iranian authorities.
Bessent made it clear that the campaign of economic pressure would soon intensify. On the air of Newsmax, he said that new measures will be announced next week.
Miad Maleki, who previously held a senior position at the U.S. Treasury Department and now works at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said that Iranian oil exports had dropped from 2 million barrels per day before the April blockade to almost zero. According to him, Iran also lacks about 29 million liters of gasoline every day, and the blockade of the strait does not make it possible to fill this deficit. "The blockade is capable of bringing the Iranian authorities to their knees if Washington makes it clear that the restrictions will not be lifted within the time frame that Tehran expects to simply wait out," he said.
Although Iran's economic situation is becoming increasingly difficult, the country is adapting to a survival economy model designed to withstand prolonged external pressure. Tehran, which has been living under sanctions for years, is shifting an increasing part of the costs to the population. The authorities are rationing the sale of fuel and electricity, limiting access to scarce foreign currency and reducing investment, while preserving critical imports and government resources.
Washington had already tried to force Iran to make concessions in the same way at an earlier stage of the war, when it imposed a naval blockade a few days after reaching a fragile ceasefire agreement. Some American officials were confident at the time that the blockade would force Iran to agree to end the conflict on Washington's terms within a few weeks.
However, in June, Trump agreed to a deal that called for ending the blockade in exchange for Iran's promise to reopen the strait and begin discussing its nuclear program. A few weeks later, Tehran, which opposed US attempts to ensure traffic through the strait, began attacking ships again.
