Thursday, August 20, 2026

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U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday, 29 Mordad, that Washington’s plan to sharply increase economic sanctions on Iran is intended to “topple” the Islamic Republic’s government. Speaking to CNBC, Bessent said: “This plan will work in Iran, and we will topple this regime.” He added: “This will be the largest coordinated economic isolation in world history.” On 23 Mordad, the U.S. treasury secretary had also said that the Donald Trump administration planned to take measures against Iran that, he said, would be “unprecedented in the history of a country’s economic isolation.” He said: “If we apply maximum economic pressure, we will most likely not see another large-scale military operation resume; but I stress that this is the situation for now.” Scott Bessent also announced that he would hold a press conference next Monday to explain “exactly what measures we plan to take” regarding Iran. **Warning to U.S. allies** Following Donald Trump’s announcement of a new plan to intensify economic pressure on Iran, the U.S. treasury secretary also warned Washington’s allies that, on Iran’s economic isolation, they must choose between “standing with the United States or standing against it.” Speaking about his message to U.S. allies, he said: “This will be the largest coordinated economic isolation in world history. We’re telling them: You’re either with us or against us.” Asked whether Washington might put pressure on China, the U.S. treasury secretary said: “Many conversations are better held in private,” while also urging Beijing to “join this plan.” He said: “We are confident that everyone wants the Strait of Hormuz reopened and energy prices brought down again.” Bessent went on to point to China’s reliance on oil from the Persian Gulf, adding: “Keep in mind that 50 percent of China’s energy comes from within the Persian Gulf. So joining this plan could be a great service to China itself.” The U.S. treasury secretary made these remarks one day after the president of the United States announced that he had launched a new, major campaign targeting Iran’s economy. On Wednesday evening, Donald Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social: “Today, I am announcing the most crushing economic operation ever carried out against a country! This will be an economic war and isolation on an unprecedented scale.” He added: “I am also announcing that any country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government bodies to provide Iran with any kind of lifeline will itself face extremely severe economic consequences.” @VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

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Parnian Dabiri’s mother said in a video that her 16-year-old daughter was taken to Kahrizak after being shot, and that her body was left on the asphalt in the grounds of the facility. She also said that when she was following up on the release of her daughter’s body, an officer hit her with a rifle butt and threatened that Parnian’s body would not be handed over if she continued to protest. She called for those responsible for her daughter’s killing to be held accountable. This forever-remembered soul was out on the street with her parents on 19 Dey 1404 when she was shot from behind with a live round by the repressive forces. @VahidOOnLine 📡 @VahidOnline

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Abbas Araghchi described Donald Trump’s threat to launch a sweeping economic campaign against Iran, dubbed “Economic D-Day,” as an attempt to cover up “America’s domestic crises,” citing “unprecedented debt and rising interest costs” as examples of those crises. @VahidOOnLine The deputy foreign minister of the Islamic Republic of Iran called Trump’s remarks about an “Economic D-Day” campaign against Iran an attempt at “miscalculation” designed to conceal a “greater defeat.” Kazem Gharibabadi wrote: “They claim Iran is on the brink of defeat and hanging by a thread, yet they’re begging all their allies to help them.” Iran’s deputy foreign minister added: “The military war didn’t work; now they’ve called their next defeat an economic war.” @VahidOOnLine 📡 @VahidOnline

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Abdolnaser Hemmati, head of Iran’s Central Bank, confirmed in a televised interview that Iran’s oil exports are currently halted. On Wednesday evening, 28 Mordad, he expressed hope that the Iran–US memorandum of understanding would be revived and negotiations resumed. This is the first time an official of the Islamic Republic has formally announced that Iran’s oil exports have been “halted.” In recent weeks, some Islamic Republic officials have warned of a new wave of protests amid a worsening economic and livelihood crisis, and said they were prepared to crack down on them. @ VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

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The judiciary of the Islamic Republic executed “Ghaem Hosseini,” known as “Arian,” on the morning of Thursday, 29 Mordad 1405, in connection with the December protests in Isfahan. He is the fifth person executed in the case known as “Ali Khani Square.” Mizan News Agency, the judiciary’s media outlet, identified Hosseini as a “foreign national” but did not disclose his citizenship. The report also gave no information about when he was arrested or where he was being held. The judiciary had accused Hosseini of “involvement in the events at Ali Khani Square in Isfahan,” carrying a weapon, spreading fear and widespread insecurity, and acting against national security. According to state media reports, his death sentence was upheld in full after his appeal was reviewed by the Supreme Court and was then carried out. The judiciary had previously executed “Abolfazl Sepahi,” “Amirhossein Safari,” “Erfan Esfandiari,” and “Gol-Mohammad Mohammadi” [Ghaem Hosseini’s cousin] in connection with the same case. Mizan had also announced that indictments were issued against 16 people in the case. Shervin Bagherian, Amirhossein Maleki, and Alireza Sepahi are three other defendants in the case. No clear information has been released about their final sentences or current status. @ VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

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☄️ Trump: No one has given the Islamic Republic of Iran a greater opportunity to reach an agreement than I have. Catastrophically for themselves, they failed to take advantage of it. Therefore, today I am announcing that the most crushing economic operation ever conducted against any country will begin! This will be economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale. Their navy has been wiped out, their air force has been destroyed, their military factories have been reduced to rubble, their currency is worthless, and their country is hanging by a thread. Today I am also announcing that any country that allows its financial institutions, businesses, airports, or government agencies to provide Iran with any kind of lifeline will itself face enormous economic consequences. Oil smuggling, swap lines, cash transfers, currency exchanges, ship registrations, shell companies — all of it must stop immediately. You know who you are. This will be an economic D-DAY, and we need all our allies to stand with the United States of America to isolate and defeat the Iranian threat. These lunatics have reached the end of the line, and these historic measures will cripple their ability to spread terror around the world. Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. Thank you for your attention to this matter. President Donald J. Trump realDonaldTrump 📡 @VahidOnline

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The Axios website reported on Wednesday, 28 Mordad 1405, that the U.S. military has established a shipping lane under its control in the southern part of the Strait of Hormuz over the past few weeks, enabling millions of barrels of oil to reach the global market each day. According to two U.S. officials, the move has helped offset some of the disruption to oil exports caused by the war. The two officials told Axios that, as part of the operation, around 15 to 20 oil tankers enter or leave the Gulf each night via the southern route through the Strait of Hormuz, along the coast of Oman. They said around 10 million barrels of oil a day are now passing through the strait along this route and entering the global market—nearly half the volume transported before the war. According to Axios, the U.S. operation is not limited to escorting tankers carrying oil. American forces also bring empty tankers from the Arabian Sea through the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf, so that after loading oil at ports in regional countries, they can leave again via the strait’s southern route. One U.S. official closely involved in the operation said the United States has controlled the southern route through the Strait of Hormuz for about two months. The official added that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps may «harass» ships, but does not control the strait. According to the report, the oil transport operation is coordinated by a task force based at the U.S. Army headquarters at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. The task force works with regional Arab countries and prepares a daily list of ships scheduled to leave the Persian Gulf for the Arabian Sea, as well as empty tankers entering the Gulf to load oil. Each night, ships travel in two separate convoys during two designated time windows to enter and leave the strait, passing through the southern route under the direction of U.S. forces. U.S. Air Force fighter jets also protect the operation against Iranian cruise missiles and drones. U.S. officials said the route was made possible after a two-week U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) operation against Iran’s radar systems and maritime surveillance capabilities. The operation has reduced Iran’s ability to monitor ship traffic along the strait’s southern route. U.S. officials say Iran now relies mainly on a few rebuilt radar systems and forces deployed on IRGC speedboats to monitor the route. They said the reduced surveillance capability has led Iran to direct more of its drone and cruise missile attacks toward areas where ships are likely to be passing. Axios has reported that several ships have been damaged in Iranian attacks, but U.S. forces have also intercepted a number of them. According to one U.S. official, American forces shot down eight Iranian drones and two cruise missiles early this week. According to the report, 15 to 20 oil tankers have passed through the southern route of the Strait of Hormuz each night over the past two weeks, and the average daily oil flow has now reached nearly 10 million barrels. U.S. officials say that on some nights in recent weeks, the volume of oil leaving the Persian Gulf has reached 15 to 20 million barrels. One of the officials said that on one night this week, more than 20 ships were scheduled to pass through the strait’s southern route and, had the plan been carried out in full, around 15 million barrels of oil would have left the Gulf. U.S. President Donald Trump also told Axios that «a huge amount of oil» is leaving the Strait of Hormuz. He also said the United States is not currently negotiating with Iran, adding that the Islamic Republic is «wasting time» in the talks. Trump further said Iran still has the ability to resist, but overall it is «much weaker than before». @ VahidHeadline 📡 @VahidOnline

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🔺 Reporter: The Treasury Secretary says we may see the most impactful sanctions against Iran as early as this week. When will these sanctions be imposed, and what else might be sanctioned in Iran? 🔻 Trump: Well, there are things we can sanction. We have very tough sanctions, and we’ll see what happens. Right now, the Strait is open. A lot of ships are passing through. They’re not reporting that, and things might slow down a little at some point, but right now a lot of ships are passing through. The naval blockade has been extremely effective. Zero. I mean, really, for as long as it’s been in place—and it’s been in place for quite a while—except for one or two short pauses when we deliberately opened it under an agreement. But that agreement didn’t work out. You know, the agreement didn’t turn out the way they said it would, when they tell us one thing and do another. But the blockade has been 100 percent successful. No ships have entered Iran, but ships are entering elsewhere. We’ll see. We’ll see what happens. Either things will go very well and oil prices will fall like a rock, or we’ll just keep doing exactly what we’re doing. You know, they were talking about $350 a barrel, and today it’s $84, $85, and we’re producing a lot of oil. But another thing that’s happened is that people have found other alternatives they never would have thought of: Texas, Alaska, Louisiana, and elsewhere. On top of that, a record number of pipelines are being built. So I think the Strait of Hormuz won’t be as important as it used to be. 📡 @VahidOnline