U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a press conference in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House on April 15, 2026, in Washington, DC.
Brendan Smialowski AFP | Getty Images
The US Treasury Department has imposed sanctions on Iran’s Persian Gulf Straits Authority. The authority was launched this month by the Iranian government to tighten control of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Treasury Department Scott Bessent later warned Oman, which is reportedly in talks with Iran about tolling ships passing through the vital oil shipping route, against allowing a tolling system on the waterway.
“Oman in particular should know that the U.S. Treasury will aggressively target any party directly or indirectly involved in facilitating the Strait Toll, and willing partners will be penalized,” Bessent wrote in the X-Post Thursday morning.
The post came a day after President Donald Trump told a cabinet meeting that “Oman will do what other countries do, or we’ll just blow it up,” while insisting there was no obstruction to the strait.
Meanwhile, the Pentagon announced Thursday morning that Iran launched a ballistic missile toward Kuwait and struck a drone in and around the Strait of Hormuz.
The new attacks, Mr. Bessent’s stern warning, Mr. Trump’s recent comments and increased sanctions all point to rising tensions in the Middle East, despite recent signals from the government and market optimism that a deal to end the three-month war is on the horizon.
However, Axios reported Thursday morning that the United States and Iran have made significant progress in ongoing negotiations.
The two countries have agreed to a 60-day memorandum of understanding to extend the ongoing ceasefire, which President Trump had already extended indefinitely, and begin negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program, Axios reported, citing two U.S. officials.
Axios reported that President Trump asked for several days to consider the agreement. US officials also said the terms of the deal were “mostly agreed” as of Tuesday, but Iran has yet to confirm that its senior leadership has signed the deal, Axios reported.
The sanctions announced Wednesday are part of “Operation Economic Fury,” the Trump administration’s effort to strain Iran’s finances, which U.S. officials say supersede the country’s military operation called “Operation Epic Fury.”
“Iran’s Persian Gulf Straits Authority (PGSA) is a joke and the Treasury Department sanctioned it today,” Bessent told X Thursday morning ahead of a post criticizing Oman. “We have warned all businesses and state organizations not to pay tolls or hide them as aid.”
Iran and the United States continue to use force in the strait, further undermining the fragile ceasefire still nominally in effect and straining efforts to bring the war to a diplomatic end.
U.S. Central Command announced Wednesday night that Iran “launched a ballistic missile toward Kuwait, which was successfully intercepted by Kuwaiti forces,” calling the action a “gross violation of the ceasefire.”
The attack occurred “several hours after the Iranian military launched five unidirectional attack drones posing a clear threat to the Strait of Hormuz and its vicinity,” CENTCOM said on XPost. “All drones were successfully intercepted by U.S. forces, and a sixth drone launch from Iran’s ground control base in Bandar Abbas was also thwarted.”
The latest military and economic actions are in response to President Trump’s insistence that he feels no pressure to reach a deal with Iran before the midterm elections, which are more than five months away.
“They are being destroyed. Their economy is in rapid decline,” President Trump said of Iran at a Cabinet meeting Wednesday.
“They thought they were going to outdo me. You know, we’re going to outdo him, he’s got midterm elections. I don’t care about midterm elections,” President Trump said.
This is developing news. Please check back for the latest information.
