Iran’s currency hit a record low Monday (August 24, 2026) as Washington prepared to announce new sanctions it said would add further pressure on an economy already battered by previous sanctions and a U.S. naval blockade.
Oman’s Foreign Minister is set to visit Iran on Tuesday (August 25). In an attempt to break the impasse, Trump’s administration promised that even stronger sanctions than those already in place would be announced Monday (August 25), including secondary sanctions on countries that continue to do business with Iran. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent wrote Sunday (August 23) in an opinion piece in the Financial Times . Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told reporters in Tehran on Monday (August 24) that “any escalation of this situation will undoubtedly bring about consequences. Pakistan, which played a key role in brokering a 60-day ceasefire in June, sent a high-level delegation to Iran on Monday (August 25) to discuss ending the war, the military said.
Already last week, the United Arab Emirates announced that it was suspending all trade with Iran. Still, economic pressure has not yet translated into political pressure. Iran retains a key strategic advantage: Its attacks and threats on ships in the Strait of Hormuz have brought traffic in the vital waterway to a near halt, damaging the world economy and heaping pressure on U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of congressional elections. Iran and Oman, which are on opposite sides of the strait, are reportedly in the final stages of agreeing upon a plan for joint management of the waterway. “The regime’s final refuge now lies in the self-deception of fearful nations that still believe accommodating aggression can secure a durable peace. The UAE has long been one of Iran’s largest trading partners and its biggest source of imports.
“President Trump decimated Iran’s economy to a point where the rial has never been weaker, and inflation has rarely been higher,” U.S. “Our hands are not tied,” he added.
