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Sanctions and preemptive threats
The United States imposed new sanctions related to Iran on Friday, targeting three Turkey-based entities—Golden Global Portfolio Unitatem, Golden Global Varliq Carama, and Golden Global Yatireem Bankasi—while the U.S. Treasury also issued a general license allowing the termination of transactions with the sanctioned entities.
“The U.S. Treasury Department issued new sanctions targeting three Iran-related entities based in Turkey”
The Al-Jazirah Net report said the Trump administration is seeking a broader agreement than the memorandum of understanding with Iran, and it quoted Vice President Mike Pence saying Washington will not hold talks with Iran unless it stops firing on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran, in the same report, confirmed it may carry out preemptive attacks "as permitted by international law," and the Iranian army spokesperson stressed that Iranian forces will carry out "preemptive operations" whenever they feel threatened.
The Al-Jazirah Net account also quoted Pence saying the Iranians "are losing capabilities day by day," and it said he described U.S. strikes as aimed to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to protect commercial shipping.
In response, Iran’s Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Ghalam Heidari said the United States and Israel have waged an illegal war against it and that Iran will never bow to injustice in any form.
EU joins, but disputes
Euronews reported that U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the European Union had “officially joined” Operation Economic Outcast, while a European Commission statement published on Monday backed the U.S. campaign without formally committing the EU to it.
Euronews quoted Bessent saying the world was “sending a clear message to the Iranian regime” and that Washington “will not stop until every last lifeline is cut,” framing the step as evidence that international pressure on Iran is increasing.
The Euronews account said the EU declaration, published on August 31 at the G20 finance ministers’ and central bank governors’ meeting in Asheville, North Carolina, said the EU “has adopted extensive sanctions” and “remains prepared to adopt new measures when necessary,” including freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
It also said the EU “welcomes the efforts to ensure that Iran ceases its destabilizing activities and engages in peace negotiations in good faith,” including through additional economic pressure, while noting it “will continue to work closely with the United States and other G7 and international partners.”
Euronews further reported that Operation Economic Outcast relies on secondary sanctions, and it said the U.S. Treasury Department has included about 60 companies, individuals, and ships on its sanctions list since the program began.
Escalation and regional targets
As the sanctions campaign widened, Iran continued to demonstrate the ability to target bases in the Gulf used by the US, with The Guardian reporting that Iran’s military targeted US bases in the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait despite threats of further strikes by the US president.
“This morning, the army hit the satellite communication systems”
The Guardian quoted an Iranian military statement carried by state television saying, “This morning, the army hit the satellite communication systems, equipment depots and fighter aircraft hangars of the terrorist US army at the Ahmad al-Jaber air base in Kuwait with missiles and drones,” and it said Kuwait’s ministry of defence reported air defences intercepted missile and drone attacks during a “blatant Iranian aggression”.
The Guardian also cited Israel’s defence chief warning that economic pressures from the sanctions could lead Tehran to more “extreme measures,” quoting Israel Katz saying, “We see signs indicating that the heavy economic pressure they are under, and the fear of an uprising and the collapse of the regime, may push them to desperate steps,” at a ceremony for defence ministry employees.
In the same report, The Guardian said Israel Katz reiterated threats against the Islamic Republic, adding, “We will strike all of Iran’s national military and civilian infrastructure – including energy infrastructure – and push Iran deep back into the stone age.”
The Guardian framed the flare-up as coming amid little evidence that the Trump administration is succeeding in advancing its war aims either on the battlefield or via mediation, while oil prices remained elevated and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz stayed far below prewar levels.