Trump Administration Tightens Economic Pressure on Iran as Allies Halt Flights and Banking

  • Trump administration presses allies to restrict Iranian flights, banks and economic activity
  • Brent crude exceeds $100 while supertanker rates reach $1.27 million daily
  • Iran offers to reopen Hormuz within seven days; Trump rejects the proposal

The Trump administration is expanding its economic campaign against Iran, pressing allies to suspend Iranian airline services, restrict Iranian banks and isolate Tehran financially after President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian offer to end the conflict with the United States and Israel. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the Treasury had engaged more than 50 countries, while Treasury assistant secretary for terrorist financing Jonathan Burke traveled through the Middle East and Europe to advance what Bessent called economic D-Day. Turkey and Oman stopped Mahan Air flights, the United Arab Emirates halted flights by Iranian airlines, and Iraq suspended flights to and from Iran at Baghdad, Najaf, Erbil and Sulaimaniya. Washington has warned that global companies doing business with Iranian airlines after September 23 will face sanctions. Banking restrictions have also expanded: the UAE central bank blocked transactions involving branches of Bank Melli, while Turkey revoked Bank Mellat’s license. Oil continues to move through the Strait of Hormuz at roughly 13 million to more than 13.5 million barrels a day, even as Brent crude rises above $100 and supertanker rates reach a record $1.27 million per day. Iran’s proposal to reopen Hormuz within seven days in exchange for the lifting of a U.S. blockade and the unfreezing of assets was rejected by Trump. Iran’s economy is under severe strain, with real GDP down 10.1% year over year, oil and gas extraction down 26.4%, annual prices up 88%, food inflation above 128% and the rial having lost about half its value over the past year. Analysts remain divided over whether the pressure will force concessions or provoke further escalation in the Strait of Hormuz.

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