Symbolic imageUS readies unprecedented economic measures against Iran
Washington is preparing new economic measures to force Tehran to capitulate after almost six months of war. Iran says its ports and oil output are holding up.
President Donald Trump told Fox News the US would hit Iran's economy hard and said he did not care if the war ended before November's midterms. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Newsmax on Thursday that announcements would come next week on steps that "have never been seen in the history of economic isolation on a country". Trump called the US blockade of Iranian ports a "wall of steel" on Friday, 14 August; Iran says it manages Hormuz traffic itself.
Tehran's counter-figures
Iran's ports have handled over 55 million tonnes of cargo since the war began, its Ports and Maritime Organisation told IRNA, and OPEC data put July output at 2.478 million barrels a day, up 26,000 from June.
Gulf hit by the closure
The National reports the closed strait, not the oil price, has done the greater damage: Brent was near $84 on 10 August, while the World Bank cut its 2026 Gulf growth forecast to 1.3 per cent.
Jordan turns to Beijing
King Abdullah II flies to China on Monday, his first visit since 2015; China supplies a fifth of Jordan's imports.
Tehran demands US concede
Iran has told the US to accept defeat as attacks on shipping mount.
Other opinions
Tehran Times reports the port and output gains but not the US measures; the UAE's The National treats the closed strait, not resilience, as the core problem.