The United States Treasury on Wednesday imposed new sanctions on 10 entities and eight tankers tied to Iran, escalating economic pressure over what it described as a coercive insurance racket in the Strait of Hormuz. Among those blacklisted are Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Co and HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority, which the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) says force commercial vessels to purchase mandatory maritime “insurance” as a condition for transiting the strategic waterway. Six of the targeted firms are based in China, according to the Treasury, while the tankers include vessels flagged by Mozambique, Barbados, Vanuatu, the Marshall Islands, Iran, and Panama.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the scheme was designed to generate revenue for the Iranian regime, including through digital assets, at a time of severe economic strain. “With its economy in freefall and inflation in the triple digits, the regime is desperate for cash,” Bessent stated, adding that the United States “will not allow Iran to hold global commerce hostage or use international shipping to finance the IRGC’s terrorism, aggression, and repression.” The sanctions build on an existing campaign: since January 2026, OFAC has sanctioned more than 100 vessels linked to Iran’s so-called shadow fleet, which Washington says helps sustain petroleum exports despite international embargoes.

The measures land amid renewed hostilities in the Gulf. After a brief truce collapsed earlier in July, the US has maintained a naval blockade of Iranian ports, while Iran has effectively closed the strait, demanding ships follow its northern corridor and firing on those that disobey. Both sides have exchanged air strikes, and the US military reported intercepting multiple ballistic missiles launched by Iran toward American forces. Viewed from Tehran, the insurance levy is a legitimate sovereign right to regulate transit; from Washington, it is an extortion tool bankrolling the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Diplomatically, a proposal by Oman to divide control of the strait on an interim basis was rejected by Iran this week, according to officials cited in regional media, dimming hopes for a quick return to negotiations. Analysts cited by Bloomberg see the pattern of limited clashes followed by brief lulls likely persisting for months, with Gulf states and Pakistan seeking to de-escalate but unable to bridge fundamental disagreements over the strait’s status. The new sanctions, combined with ongoing military strikes, signal that Washington intends to maintain pressure on Tehran until it yields concessions over the waterway.