US Treasury threatens sanctions against third countries over Iran, Tehran opens a passage at Hormuz

The US Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, announced on Monday, August 24, 2026, a new package of sanctions against Iran, accompanying it with the threat of measures against third countries that fail to reduce their economic ties with Tehran. The names of those countries were not disclosed. The Treasury also indicated that by the end of the week it will announce sanctions against a financial institution, likewise unspecified.

This newspaper has been following the same distinction for days, and reaffirms it: as long as the text of the measures, the lists of designated entities and the operational notes are not public, what exists is an announcement, not a measure. Alongside the announcement, Bessent offered a definition of the goal Washington is pursuing.

“The largest coordinated economic isolation in the history of the world” (transl. from English) — Scott Bessent, US Treasury Secretary

The material picture: the naval blockade

Beneath the statements lies an already operational fact: since April 13, 2026, the United States has been enforcing a naval blockade that severely limits Iranian crude oil exports. This is the measure that determines, today, the actual flows; the sanctions announced on Monday would be added to it, extending its reach from Iranian entities to those who continue to trade with Iran.

The category of secondary sanctions is the one that changes the nature of the confrontation: it does not target the adversary, it targets those who do not fall in line. It is also the hardest category to assess without documents, because the effect depends entirely on which sectors and which institutions end up on the list.

The Iraqi passage

On the same day, a signal came in the opposite direction. The Iranian agency Irna, cited by Reuters, reported that Tehran has authorized the transit through the Strait of Hormuz of some Iraqi oil tankers, following repeated requests from Baghdad. It is a selective opening, not a restoration: it concerns vessels of a neighboring country and is not accompanied, among the available information, by any indication of the number of ships involved, the conditions set, or the duration of the authorization.

On the Iranian political front, the tone remains defiant. Security chief Mohsen Rezaei promised to neutralize what he called an economic war and threatened to halt the flow of oil through the Strait: the statement is reported by the broadcaster Press TV. It stands as the Iranian side’s position, not as a description of an event that has occurred.

Two clocks that do not align

The relevant point of the day is the mismatch between the two levels. On the declarative level, Washington raises the stakes and Tehran responds by raising them in turn. On the operational level, the only concrete, verifiable movement is in the opposite direction: a commercial passage granted to a neighbor that depends on that route.

The combination of an active naval blockade and the threat of secondary sanctions has a practical consequence for countries that purchase Iranian crude or manage its transit and payment: the risk position shifts from Iranian operators to those of third countries. But the scale of that shift cannot be measured until the lists are released.

What we do not know

We do not know the content of the measures announced on Monday, nor the exact date of their publication. We do not know the identity of the financial institution the Treasury said it intends to target by the end of the week, nor the countries Bessent implicitly indicated as targets of the secondary sanctions. We do not know how many Iraqi oil tankers have actually crossed the Strait, nor whether the authorization has been renewed.

The first verifiable confirmation expected is therefore twofold: the publication of the Treasury’s acts with the designations, and the announcement regarding the financial institution indicated for this week. Until then, the confirmed part of this story remains the naval blockade in force since April 13 and the passage granted to Iraqi vessels.

Sources: CNN, Al Jazeera, CNBC. Irna and Press TV are Iranian state media outlets: their statements are reported as attributed claims, not as verified facts.