US treasury secretary vows Washington will ‘collapse’ Islamic Republic regime, promises toughest sanctions yet; US targets Hezbollah with new sanctions, emphasizing ties to Tehran
By Agencies and ToI Staff20 August 2026, 11:54 pm
Women walk past a portrait of the late Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israel strikes on February 28, and images of the Iranian flag, on a sidewalk in downtown Tehran, Iran, August 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Thursday condemned newly threatened US economic and trade sanctions, claiming they would target ordinary Iranians and amount to “economic terrorism” and crimes against humanity.
US President Donald Trump warned on Wednesday of sweeping economic consequences for any country that provides what he called “any type of lifeline to Iran,” threatening economic warfare and isolation on an unprecedented scale.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry said the measures will not weaken Tehran’s resolve to defend its independence, national sovereignty and interests.
“Undoubtedly, the US economic sanctions against Iran, which have targeted the fundamental human rights of every Iranian citizen, are a case of ‘economic terrorism’ and ‘crimes against humanity,’ and the perpetrators and instigators of these sanctions are deserving of trial and punishment for committing such heinous crimes,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by state media.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi also said that the newly announced US sanctions are a “diversion from America’s own crisis: unprecedented debt & surging interest costs.”
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“Doubling down on failed policies will only bring further defeat—and enmity of Iranians,” Araghchi said in a post on X. “US economic terrorism threatens global economy and sovereignty worldwide”
The US president has made a series of threats of devastating force and economic sanctions against Iran, only to walk many of those back, while claiming progress in negotiations toward a diplomatic agreement.
The intensified economic pressure campaign comes as the war nears the six-month mark with no immediate diplomatic or military off-ramp in sight and the vital Strait of Hormuz still significantly choked off, obstructing the flow of oil and natural gas. With the US November midterm elections quickly approaching, Trump is also facing renewed domestic scrutiny over the war’s costs on US consumers and its toll on the military.
Trump did not elaborate on what he would do to countries that continue doing business with Iran, which would appear to include US allies that have helped mediate peace talks, and he did not list any country by name.
But US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC that he will hold a press conference on Monday “to talk about exactly what we’re going to do” on Iran.
“It is a one-two punch. We have the blockade [on Iran], and we are going to have the toughest sanctions in history,” he added, referring to a US naval blockade imposed on Iran in April and paused for a month in mid-June.
“It is going to work in Iran, and we are going to collapse this regime. It is time for our allies and the rest of the world to make a decision,” he said.
Oil prices rose to more than a three-week high on Thursday following those US threats of financial penalties aimed at forcing an end to the war.
“I’m not sure why oil has popped up on this,” Bessent told CNBC. “If we are doing the maximum economic pressure, then that means that likely there will not be a large-scale kinetic restart,” he said, using a term referring to military force.
When asked if the US could target China for doing business with Iran, Bessent said many conversations were best had in private.
“Keep in mind that the Chinese get 50 percent [of their] energy from inside the Gulf. So it would do them a big service to get with the program,” he said.
China buys more than 80% of Iran’s shipped oil, according to 2025 data from analytics firm Kpler, but engaging in further economic warfare with China, a major exporter to the US, including in vital rare-earth minerals, risks retaliation against Washington.
US sanctions Hezbollah over ties with Iran
Washington also issued fresh sanctions targeting the Iran-backed Lebanese terror group Hezbollah, including re-designating it over actions on behalf of the Iranian government, according to a statement seen by Reuters on Thursday.
The Treasury Department re-designated the group “for service to the Iranian regime under the command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force,” according to the statement.
While Hezbollah is not being designated under any new authority, the Treasury Department is re-designating it as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist “for service to the Iranian regime under the command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force,” according to the statement.
A US official said that the re-designation is intended to show that Hezbollah is acting on behalf of the Iranian government and to update the public record to link the designation to Hezbollah’s actions on behalf of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Quds Force, which oversees the elite paramilitary’s foreign operations.
Hezbollah was first designated under the authority in 2001 and is also sanctioned by the US as a Foreign Terrorist Organization. The United States is also designating a group of 10 people that it accuses of smuggling cash for Hezbollah.
The US official said that the measures to be taken Thursday are separate from the action the US plans to take against Iran.
Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East war in March with rocket fire at Israel in support of Iran. It has repeatedly opposed ongoing US-backed peace negotiations between Jerusalem and Beirut and refuses to surrender its weapons.
US greenlights $4.5 billion sale of aircraft to Qatar
Separately, the US has approved a potential $4.5 billion sale of refueling aircraft to Qatar, which has acted as a mediator in Washington’s war with Iran, the State Department announced.
Qatar has asked to purchase up to four KC-46A aircraft, equipped with missile warning sensors, the department said in a statement.
The sale, which was sent to Congress for its approval, will help support US national security by “helping to improve the security of a strategic regional partner,” it said.
The deal will “increase Qatar’s capability to meet current and future threats by enhancing its defense capabilities and interoperability with US and allied forces,” it added.
Qatar is one of the mediators seeking to help Washington and Tehran reach a deal to end months of fighting, though talks are currently at a standstill. It is also working to resolve the conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Qatar is home to Al-Udeid Air Base, the largest US military installation in the Middle East. The base has been targeted several times by Iran during the conflict that began in late February.
The Gulf state gave Trump a luxury airliner that is now a new Air Force One.
Earlier this week, Channel 12 reported that Israel is halting all of tis defense exports to Qatar, viewing the Gulf nation as “an evil state that works against Israel.”
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