The Trump administration on Wednesday placed further sanctions on Iran as part of a sprawling economic pressure campaign during the war, this time targeting the country’s newly created agency that is trying to control shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The sanctions were announced late Wednesday after U.S. forces carried out strikes on an Iran military facility after downing Iranian attack drones, according to U.S. officials who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
The sanctions move, first reported by The Associated Press, is the latest U.S. effort to use economic leverage on top of military action to push Iran’s leadership into an agreement to end the war and open the waterway through which 20% of the world’s oil and natural gas normally pass. President Donald Trump has said a deal is imminent, but talks are continuing. Rising energy prices and other costs stemming from Iran’s effective closure of the strait have heaped political pressure on Trump and other Republicans ahead of the midterm congressional elections.
