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16 Apr 2026, 04:36

Scott Basset, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, warned on Wednesday at the White House that the United States is preparing to escalate economic pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran by imposing secondary sanctions on financial institutions that trade with the country. Basset described this action as the "financial equivalent" of bombing the Islamic Republic of Iran.

He also threatened to sanction buyers of Iranian oil.

Reuters reported that the U.S. Treasury Secretary told reporters at the White House: "We have told countries that if you are buying Iranian oil, if [the Islamic Republic of] Iran's money is in your banks, we are now ready to impose secondary sanctions."

The maritime blockade of the Islamic Republic by the U.S. began on Monday as the war entered its seventh week. China had previously purchased over 80% of the oil shipped from Iran via tankers. Basset stated, "We believe that with this maritime blockade... Chinese purchases [from Iran] will stop."
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These actions come after the U.S. issued a 30-day exemption for Iranian oil exports at sea; an exemption that, according to Basset, resulted in approximately 140 million barrels of Iranian oil entering the global market. He confirmed that this exemption, which was issued on March 20 and ends on April 19, will not be extended.

At the same time, the U.S. has not extended a similar exemption for Russian oil. Reports also indicate that the U.S. Treasury has sent letters to countries including China, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, warning about the activities of banks that Washington claims are linked to illegal transactions with Iran.

In another development, the U.S. Treasury Secretary announced that Washington has asked Gulf countries to freeze assets related to commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and members of the Iranian government.
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