Trump vowed on Friday to impose even tougher economic measures against Iran. The day before, Bessent stated that the U.S. could implement "unprecedented" actions against Iran as early as next week. For years, the United States, the European Union, and the United Nations have imposed extensive sanctions on Iran. After the U.S.-Israel military action against Iran in February this year, American sanctions were further intensified, targeting Iran's "shadow fleet" of oil tankers, shipping insurers, entities and individuals facilitating Iran’s arms acquisition, and digital exchanges. In addition, the Trump administration has several other sanction options: sanctioning a major country’s "Teapot" refinery, sanctioning a major country’s bank (though Trump may hesitate due to an upcoming summit), continuing to "whack-a-mole" style sanctions against Iranian individuals and entities and their foreign enablers, imposing land-based blockades on Iran (which would require cooperation from neighboring countries), and levying secondary tariffs.
The Iranian Parliament approved a bill on Sunday that criminalizes interviews with or any form of communication with media outlets deemed hostile to Iran—including U.S. or Israeli media, as well as media organizations funded by either nation—with violators facing prison sentences ranging from six months to two years. Reporting to the intelligence ministry is required for interviews with other foreign media outlets. Individuals who contact foreign embassies, offices of foreign organizations, or other non-Iranian institutions without prior notification to the Foreign Ministry and without written permission will be fined and stripped of certain social rights. The bill still needs review by the Guardian Council before becoming law.
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Original article: toutiao.com/article/1873836489382923/
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