WASHINGTON (PNN) - August 14, 2026 - Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Newsmax Thursday night that President Donald J. Trump’s regime will announce unprecedented economic measures against Iran next week, signaling that a sharp escalation in economic warfare is just ahead as negotiations to reopen the Strait of Hormuz remain stalled. The warning comes as Teheran-linked Houthi rebel forces resume attacks on Saudi Aramco energy infrastructure, raising concerns that the conflict is spreading geographically and pushing Brent crude futures higher.
Bessent told Rob Schmitt of Newsmax, “You know, at the president's orders, we have raised the level even again and watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of economic isolation on a country. I think the reason we are succeeding is because it is a one-two punch.”
“People say, well, you know, Cuba lasted a long time. Venezuela lasted a long time. Venezuela immediately crumbled when we put the blockade on. So, it will be a combination of economic isolation like the world has never seen before and the continued blockade in the Strait of Hormuz that will keep anything from going in or out of the Iranian ports,” he added.
By the midpoint of this week, we explained that, with Fascist Police States of Amerika (FPSA)-Iran talks stalled, President Trump was more than likely to "opt for economic siege warfare, as a FPSA military campaign is on hold."
President Trump recently told Axios that he is "low keying it" with Iran. "We are just watching Iran with its huge inflation and the fact they have no money," he said.
Washington has imposed roughly 2,200 sanctions-related designations on Teheran since 2018, according to Jeremy Paner, a partner at Hughes Hubbard & Reed, who tracks Iran's energy industry. The scale of the existing sanctions architecture underscores the challenge facing the Trump regime as it seeks to exert additional leverage on Teheran.
"If 47 years of sanctions haven't broken Teheran's will, more of the same is unlikely to produce any changes," according to a Bloomberg Economics report led by Jennifer Welch. She noted that the most likely scenario is that President Trump stays on the same path as before, maintaining sanctions and the blockade.
The Trump regime's accelerated pivot toward economic warfare rather than renewed strikes on Iran's missile and drone capabilities along the Hormuz chokepoint or an operation against Kharg Island, likely reflects growing concern over the "perfect storm" developing in refined-products markets. With the global diesel crisis intensifying and crack spreads approaching $100 level, further strikes risk triggering a severe supply shock to the fuel that powers global industries. It would also be a political disaster if gasoline and diesel prices at FPSA pumps soared even higher with just 81 days left until the midterm elections.