US President Donald Trump has vowed to hit Iran hard economically, after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that Washington would impose measures on Tehran that have “never been seen” as soon as next week.
Bessent is due to hold a press conference at 2pm EDT (1800 GMT) on Monday.
The United States, the United Nations and the European Union have applied sanctions, implemented trade embargoes and frozen assets since the late 1970s over Iran’s nuclear programme, “human rights violations and support for militant groups”.
Since the Iran war began in February, Washington has levied additional maritime, energy and financial sanctions and started a naval blockade.
Data from the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) shows the agency has imposed sanctions on more than 1,000 people, vessels and aircraft since Trump began his second term.
Recent measures have targeted Iran’s shadow oil fleet; shipping insurers; entities and people enabling Iran’s acquisition of weapons; and digital exchanges, freezing an estimated $500 billion in Iran-linked cryptocurrency.
Iran has denounced US plans to announce new sanctions that could put further strain on the Islamic Republic’s economy.
Oil shipments are at a virtual standstill in the Strait of Hormuz, with Tehran threatening to strike any unauthorised oil tankers that try to transit the vital waterway, and Iran’s economy is already under immense pressure from sanctions.
Experts say the Trump administration also can try these options:
Sanctions on Chinese ‘teapot’ refiners
Chinese independent refineries known as “teapots” account for a quarter of Chinese refinery capacity. They operate with narrow and sometimes negative profit margins.
China buys more than 80% of Iran’s shipped oil, according to 2025 data from analytics firm Kpler. Independent refiners absorb much of this trade, exposing them to so-called secondary measures that penalise entities helping a primary sanctions target.
Past US sanctions have deterred larger independent refiners from buying Iranian oil. But the independent refineries are somewhat immune since they have little exposure to the US financial system, sanctions experts say.
Sanctions on Chinese banks
OFAC has imposed secondary sanctions on smaller China- and Hong Kong-based entities accused of processing billions of dollars in Iranian oil and helping to fund weapons procurement.
The Treasury Department has warned two larger Chinese banks they could face secondary sanctions if Iranian funds were found moving through their systems, but has stopped short of designating them.
Hitting those two banks, which US officials have not publicly identified, or imposing other sanctions could have a chilling effect on bigger financial institutions, sanctions experts said, although they warned it could also trigger retaliatory actions by Beijing.
