The United States has imposed a new round of sanctions targeting Iranian financier Ali Ansari and 13 other individuals and entities, aiming to isolate new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and regime elites from the global financial system. The Office of Foreign Assets Control targeted Iran-based exchanges and foreign shell companies accused of moving billions of dollars annually on behalf of sanctioned Iranian banks.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the sanctions are designed to cut off Khamenei and other elites, while Ansari, a Dubai-based banker previously sanctioned by Britain for funding the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was singled out for allegedly aiding the new supreme leader.
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused Washington of violating the memorandum of understanding struck last month, which he said prohibited new sanctions. President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire established by that preliminary deal is over but agreed to continue technical talks. Trump also threatened to "decimate and destroy" Iran if it acts on threats to assassinate him, as the U.S. military conducted renewed strikes after commercial vessels were attacked in the Strait of Hormuz.