US imposes sanctions on alleged intermediaries in Iran's military supplies — PBS NewsHour
The United States has imposed sanctions on ten individuals and entities based in Iran, Hong Kong and Pakistan. US authorities accuse them of procuring weapons and their components for Iran's Ministry of Defense. The restrictions were announced by the US Department of the Treasury.
Economic pressure campaign
As PBS NewsHour reports, the sanctions became part of President Donald Trump's administration's Operation Economic Outcast campaign. Its goal is to cut off critical financial flows to the Iranian government, which is already under significant sanctions.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that the department would not tolerate support for the Iranian regime and would continue to identify and isolate its facilitators. US officials also said they seek to disrupt Iran's defense systems and further limit the government's ability to rebuild its weapons program.
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According to the outlet, the restrictions were imposed amid Iran's war with the United States, which has been ongoing for seven months. Diplomatic prospects for resuming talks between Washington and Tehran remain uncertain.
Rial exchange rate decline
The new financial restrictions were announced on the day when the Iranian rial reached a record low. On September 29, traders in Tehran exchanged more than 2.5 million rials for one US dollar. The previous record low was 2.2 million rials per dollar and was recorded on September 2.
Iran's economy has been under pressure from international sanctions for years. PBS NewsHour notes that the US naval blockade of Iranian oil introduced this year, as well as sanctions imposed since the start of the war, have intensified the country's economic decline. In 2024, Joe Biden's administration also imposed sanctions on entities that supported Iran's Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics in the production and distribution of missiles and drones.
