Trump: Could Claim Hormuz as US Territory Behind Blockade

President Donald Trump said Friday that the naval blockade on Iranian ports is going so well, he could soon claim the Strait of Hormuz as a U.S. territory.

He told Americans that higher gasoline prices are a small price to pay to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Speaking at the Nassau County Police Academy in Garden City, New York, Trump made the comments while discussing his administration's efforts to lower prices before turning to the conflict with Iran.

His comments aired live on Newsmax and the free Newsmax2 streaming platform.

"After we finish defeating Iran, which is being very badly defeated, pretty soon I'll be declaring the Hormuz Strait a territory of the United States," Trump said. "Essentially, that's what we have."

He added that the reason is "the blockade. No ships get through unless we want them to."

Trump had made a similar claim Wednesday, writing on Truth Social that the U.S. had "total control" of Hormuz, adding, "I THINK WE WILL KEEP IT!"

 

Iran has rejected Trump's assertions, maintaining that the strategic waterway remains under Tehran's control.

The strait, connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, is one of the world's most important energy corridors.

Tensions there remained high Friday after the United Arab Emirates accused Iran of attacking two vessels operated by state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, or ADNOC, as they transited the waterway. No injuries were reported.

Trump said Friday that military action against Iran had disrupted what had been progress in bringing down prices at home.

"We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon," Trump said, recalling telling members of his administration that America had to "make a little journey to the Middle East because we have to put out a potential disaster."

Trump then directly addressed Americans paying higher prices at the pump.

"For you to pay a tiny little bit more for your gasoline, just remember you're doing it so that a very evil country cannot have" a nuclear weapon, Trump said, calling Iran "the No. 1 state sponsor of terror in the world."

He added, "So remember that when you have to pay a little bit more, you're at $4. It's OK. I mean, I'll never apologize. I did the right thing."

Trump said the military campaign was "a great service for the world, not only for ourselves."

He noted that "the blockade is unstoppable. The blockade is a wall of steel."

 

Biden’s Former Press Secretary Calls Karoline Leavitt a Liar—Then Gets Hit With a Brutal Fact Check

Well, this is rich. 

Upon hearing the news that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt would be stepping away from her role at the end of the month to focus on her young family, former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki used the occasion to trash Leavitt and call her a liar.

Yes, really, the woman whose inane and repeated "circle back" responses during her own tenure behind the White House briefing podium – she was Biden's first press secretary – made her a laughingstock both in and outside of Washington, D.C., now wants to lecture Karoline Leavitt about how a press secretary should behave.

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SEE ALSO: Karoline Leavitt Understood the Assignment (VIP)

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Psaki apparently has a show on MS NOW and let loose on the Thursday night episode, saying Leavitt didn't engage the media "in good faith" and "reshaped" the White House Briefing Room "into her own personal safe space."

“The relationship between the press and the White House is supposed to be adversarial by design,” Psaki said on MS NOW, formerly MSNBC, where she was hired after her performance on then-President Biden’s behalf from 2021 to 2022. “I mean, the press in the room are supposed to push for more access, for more information. And there are times when it’s absolutely appropriate for the press secretary to push back. But Karoline Leavitt didn’t want to engage in good faith with those reporters and their tough questions.

“And so, instead, she did everything she could to reshape that briefing room into her own personal safe space where she rarely had to answer a tough question, hardly ever. I mean, she only briefed once or twice a week, max.”

Psaki wasn't done there and "accused Leavitt of lying repeatedly in her role and said she only served one man: Trump."

“It’s been about telling the version of the truth according to the serial liar who sits in the Oval Office. Reporters in the room don’t matter. The American people who rely on the reporting from the reporters in the room [don’t] matter, she’s never seen her job as working for the American people as a public servant,” Psaki said, adding she had damaged the job.

As a reminder, Jen Psaki spent years helping sell the fiction that Joe Biden was mentally sharp and physically vigorous, once claiming that the then-78-year-old president was so energetic she sometimes had trouble keeping up with him; even after leaving the White House, she insisted she had never witnessed any diminished capacity. 

She's hardly in a position to cast judgment on anyone with that resume.

Wid Lyman, an independent journalist who often attended Leavitt's briefings, served up a brutal fact check on Psaki, revealing that, behind the scenes, the media has appreciated the increased access to the president, describing Leavitt's entire team as "first class."

Jen Psaki recently said the White House press briefing room “has massively changed” under the Trump administration and @karolineleavitt. 

If you talk to anyone who has worked in media at the White House this is undoubtedly true. 

Two comments I have heard recently:

"There is way, way more going on during this administration compared to the last."

"The entire press team is first-class."

Karoline Leavitt not only fostered a more open atmosphere for multiple types of media in the briefing room, but she also created an environment where her staff was professional and courteous. 

The 49 permanent seats in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room are allocated to legacy and major news organizations, but standing room only crowds of unseated journalists regularly attend the briefings. 

I routinely hear how much more crowded the room is compared to other times. 

Thank you for the opportunity to give our readers and followers a voice. 

God bless in all things 🙏

White House spokesman Davis Ingle 

 

had a very simple response to Psaki's attack on Leavitt: “Jen ‘Circle Back’ Psaki couldn’t hold a candle to Karoline Leavitt.”

Leavitt leaves the White House having expanded press access and earned praise even from journalists outside the conservative media bubble. Psaki left after helping hide Joe Biden’s obvious decline from the American people. If she really wants to have a conversation about who disgraced the podium, by all means, let’s have it.

 

Hung Cao Torpedoes Media Narrative About 'Miserable' USS Abraham Lincoln Crew

Having failed to gain enough traction on the Air Force One rope-a-dope story from earlier in the week, the legacy media –  in its never ending quest for a "gotcha story" on President Trump – has made a hard pivot and is now focused on the conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. (A topic they didn't care one iota about until it occurred to them that possibly unhappy sailors could reflect poorly on the Commander in Chief.)

Here is RedState's Bob Hoge reporting on the media's reaction to the supposed widespread misery on the Lincoln, which has been on a long-term deployment in the Middle East:

The reports are everywhere — miserable conditions supposedly aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, including food shortages, broken plumbing, widespread exhaustion, and plummeting morale. It’s so bad, these reports say, that some sailors have attempted to jump overboard and presumably drown. Breathless headlines like “Conditions on US aircraft carrier at sea for more than 250 days raise alarms” are rampant.

As Bob noted, the increasing histrionics from the media led CENTCOM to release an "everybody just calm down" statement to set the record straight, particularly about a false report that seven sailors had died in a brawl aboard the Lincoln. Here's CENTCOM:

Over the past 48 hours, multiple media outlets have reported several false claims related to USS Abraham Lincoln's (CVN 72) deployment to the Middle East. One report alleged seven Sailors died in a brawl aboard the aircraft carrier and others have recently suggested a spike in suicidal ideations. These reports are FALSE.

This did little to placate the press, which is hungry to head into the weekend with something to pin on Trump for the Sunday morning news shows.

Not willing to play that game, Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao released a statement Friday afternoon shooting down the idea that the Lincoln and its crew were experiencing anything other than a long and challenging deployment. Something sailors and their families have dealt with for decades.

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SEE ALSO: Trump's Air Force One 'Decoy' Fooled the Press. Good. That Was the Point.

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Cao said the crew "crushed their deployment" and will soon return home as a part of a normal, planned rotation. And while there have been some challenges – aircraft carriers are like floating cities and, with that, come certain hardships – the crew remains unbroken.

The USS Abraham Lincoln crushed their deployment and will return home soon as part of a planned rotation. Details will come but let me be clear: the safety and security of our Sailors and Marines always comes first.

 

Mission accomplishment. Troop Welfare. This is how we lead.

The Lincoln was extended because the mission demanded it. Deployments are hard. Combat operations make them harder. War is hell and normal routines are disrupted. One of the hardest aspects about warfighting beyond knowingly placing our service members in harm’s way is that even with the best planning and communication, change and uncertainty will always be in play. Our success depends on how we adapt.

Sailors and Marines are expected to dig deep—and they always do. A leader’s responsibility is to take care of their people the best they can while balancing mission requirements. During this deployment we have seen both: the job is getting done and our leaders are taking care of their people.

Unfortunately, the media are trying to paint our warriors as victims. Not only is that dishonest but it takes away the focus on the enemy and the threat it poses against our nation, people, and way of life.

Here is the truth—

• 266 days deployed.
• 200 days in a combat zone. 
• 10,000+ sorties.
• 1.5M lbs. of ordnance dropped. 
• And retention rates on the ABE are amongst the highest of all carriers.

It is also true—

• A small number of mental health cases were treated with no loss of life.
• Meal plans were adjusted when fresh resupply was unavailable, without a single meal being missed.
• Calls home were limited when the operational threat was too high.

There is no question our young men and women have been pushed to their limits—but they have never broken. They are rightly tired—but have never been out of the fight. However, it is clear, knowing the whole story, our force and their families are not victims. They are the epitome of American strength and resilience.

So, when the USS Abraham Lincoln pulls into the pier, join me and stand proudly with a grateful heart and give our Sailors and Marines the Hero’s Welcome they deserve. 

Semper Fi and Hooyah.

No one is downplaying the challenging conditions aboard the Lincoln. Nine months at sea, much of it spent in combat operation, is no picnic, and the sailors and Marines aboard her have every right to be exhausted and eager to get home to their families. 

The Lincoln is coming home. Her crew did the job they were sent to do. And after 266 days at sea, perhaps the story isn't that they were "victims" of Donald Trump.

Perhaps the story is exactly what Cao said – they crushed the mission.

 

Shocker: PETA Isn't Going to Condemn Dog-Killer Abdul El-Sayed

PETA, the organization widely known for its over-the-top progressive activism for animals, is refusing to condemn Democrat Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed after serious animal abuse allegations came to light from his tenure as Detroit’s health director.

A report from the Daily Mail found that El-Sayed was the subject of whistleblower complaints after he ascended to the post of health director in Detroit. Under his watch nearly 4,700 cats and dogs were euthanized, and an untold number died from malnutrition and lack of medical care, all while being subject to unsanitary conditions.

 

The problem grew so bad that one former employee called the Department of Animal Control under El-Sayed’s reign a “dog slaughterhouse.”

“I was almost embarrassed with myself to be part of a team that played a role of the death of so many dogs in their cages," Detroit Animal Control whistleblower Brittany Roberts told the Daily Mail regarding the neglect. "Every morning, we’d just walk around and see who was alive before we could even feed."

 

When asked for comment regarding El-Sayed’s shocking actions, PETA told Townhall that the blame shouldn’t be laid at the candidate’s feet.

“Every public official who oversees an animal shelter inherits the same heartbreaking challenge: there are far more homeless dogs and cats than there are good homes for them,” a PETA spokesperson told Townhall. “Animal shelters should be open-admission, meaning they never turn animals away, and shelter workers are often forced to make difficult decisions when animals outnumber available homes.”

“Anyone upset about animals in shelters having to be euthanized should place the blame firmly where it belongs: on breeders and retailers who continue churning out animals, on the people who keep them in business by buying instead of adopting, and on those who fail to have their animals spayed or neutered, fueling the overpopulation crisis,” the spokesperson continued.

Despite the organization’s unwillingness to condemn El-Sayed, the group did state that allegations similar to those leveled at the candidate should warrant an investigation: “Anyone entrusted with overseeing animal sheltering should prioritize aggressive spay/neuter efforts, expand access to affordable veterinary services, support adoption programs, and ensure that every animal receives prompt and appropriate care. If animals are ever denied necessary veterinary treatment or allowed to suffer from neglect while in a shelter's custody, that is a serious matter that warrants a thorough and independent investigation.”

No public investigation into the allegations has been undertaken. However, while the City of Detroit has refused to admit to any wrongdoing, they did award Brittany Roberts $63,000 in a settlement that avoided requiring a judicial ruling over her allegations.

PETA, though unwilling to condemn the apparent systematic abuse perpetuated under El-Sayed’s leadership, regularly engages in political activism with hyper-progressive stances. The organization encourages followers to “combat fishing” in their communities and has labeled hunting as “nothing more than a violent form of entertainment” while calling for a ban on semi-automatic sporting rifles.

Some have suggested that PETA has engaged in similar euthanasia practices to that of El-Sayed’s time as Detroit’s health director. John Simpson, a New York animal rights lawyer, wrote in 2025 that the organization euthanizes cats and dogs at a significantly higher rate as compared to other groups. In 2017, PETA paid a nearly $50,000 settlement after it had abducted a family dog and euthanized it on the same day.

In 2017 alone, El-Sayed’s Detroit animal control euthanized 1,417 cats and dogs, according to the report from the Daily Mail. PETA’s Norfolk, Virginia, site euthanized 1,782 in the same year, according to Simpson.

El-Sayed, armed with his apparent pet-genocidal past, will face off against Republican Mike Rogers for control of the Michigan Senate seat during the midterm elections this November.

 

DFW Airport Dumps Islamic Foot-Washing Station Plan After Abbott Pushback

The Dallas-Fort Worth Airport has reportedly scrapped plans to install Islamic footwashing stations, Fox News reported. 

The news follows Texas Gov. Greg Abbott directing a review of state grants that operate airports in Texas after Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport reportedly planned to build ablution facilities for Islamic washing rituals. 

Abbott posted on X.

“Government-owned airports cannot favor one religion over all others.

DFW plans to install Islamic wudu washing facilities are illegal. I've directed a review of all state grants to both airports for possible revocation, and referred DFW & IAH to USDOT for investigation.”

Abbott said he referred DFW and the George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston to the Department of Transportation for investigation. 

“That is illegal. Both airports are government-owned facilities.3 Both the federal and state constitutions prohibit government from facilitating this sort of discrimination. Just as the government cannot favor the secular over the sacred, it also cannot favor one religious view of the sacred over all others in our “pluralistic society.”

 DFW Airport Authority Letter FINAL  by  scott.mcclallen 

DFW Airport scraps controversial Islamic footwashing station plan as Texas Gov Abbott takes aim.

It was clearly illegal. https://t.co/ij9dSwYpHN

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) August 15, 2026

"DFW was in the process of evaluating an internal proposal to add a set of ablution washing stations on the pre-security side of Terminal D, the international terminal. Like all proposed projects, the airport ultimately considers the operational benefits, customer service impacts, operational risks and costs before approving them," the airport told Fox News. 

Government-owned airports cannot favor one religion over all others.

DFW plans to install Islamic wudu washing facilities are illegal. I've directed a review of all state grants to both airports for possible revocation, and referred DFW & IAH to USDOT for investigation.

Texas… pic.twitter.com/XY58WAKJ8N

— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) August 14, 2026

BREAKING: TX Governor Greg Abbott declares Islamic foot washing stations being installed at DFW airport and already installed at IAH airport as illegal. He is referring both airports to US DOT and is initiating a review of all state grants to both airports. https://t.co/rpVrsTpD8G

— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) August 15, 2026

🚨 BREAKING: Texas Gov. Greg Abbott just intervened to BLOCK Dallas Fort Worth International Airport from placing Islamic foot washing stations in the bathrooms — declaring it "ILLEGAL," considering grant revocation, and referring it to the Trump admin

GOOD! Repel Islamic… pic.twitter.com/5mfJAn4jBs

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 15, 2026

BREAKING: DFW airport cancels planned Islamic footwashing station.

— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 15, 2026

🚨MAJOR VICTORY🚨

Dallas-Fort Worth airport has CANCELED
Islamic foot-washing station plan after Texas Governor Greg Abbott called for reviews into grants.

DFW told Fox News it “…determined not to proceed with the project as it would not deliver the originally anticipated… https://t.co/NyGhzrURHW

— Breanna Morello (@BreannaMorello) August 15, 2026

Editor’s Note: Do you enjoy Townhall’s conservative reporting that takes on the radical Left and woke media? Support our work so that we can continue to bring you the truth.

 

N.Y.: Trump touts crime drop during Long Island speech, endorses Blakeman ahead of midterms

U.S. President Donald Trump arrives to deliver remarks at the David S. Mack Center for Training and Intelligence on August 14, 2026 in Garden City, New York. President Trump visited the police academy to highlight the FBI’s 2025 Crime Statistics Report and rally support for local Republican candidates ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.

President Donald Trump visited New York on Friday, where he declared that “every category of violent crime has dropped massively” since he returned to office — while also praising the “men and women who put their lives on the line” to protect American citizens.

During his speech in Long Island, the president further emphasized that the “the numbers keep getting better.”

.@POTUS: Last year, there were over 3,100 fewer murders than the year before I took office, 10,000 fewer rapes, and 1.1 million fewer violent crimes. Robberies fell by 19%, car thefts plunged by 23% — and according to the latest data, crime has continued to plummet under our… pic.twitter.com/4Azgc3KfYy

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 14, 2026

Trump asserted that his administration’s “efforts to protect law enforcement” had led directly to “a drop in attacks on officers.”

“Shortly after taking office, I signed a historic Executive Order directing that anyone convicted of killing a police officer should face the death penalty — and last year, deaths of law enforcement officers in the line of duty fell to an 80-year low,” the president explained.

.@POTUS: Shortly after taking office, I signed a historic Executive Order directing that anyone convicted of killing a police officer should face the death penalty — and last year, deaths of law enforcement officers in the line of duty fell to an 80-year low. pic.twitter.com/VUp9WTcS1t

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 14, 2026

However, Trump also warned that this progress “can be reversed” if Democrats retain power in the near future, sharply criticizing incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.)

 

.@POTUS on Long Island: Nowhere is the Communist attack on American society more clear than here in New York. Radical Left @GovKathyHochul has been a NIGHTMARE on crime:

 She supports New York's disastrous No Cash Bail law, which releases dangerous criminals immediately after… pic.twitter.com/ptp4GtW5t4

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 14, 2026

Offering what he described as the solution to the problem — to “vote for Republicans” — he brought conservative Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman onto the stage, who is challenging Hochul in the November election.

 BREAKING: Trump-endorsed New York governor candidate Bruce Blakeman just WALKED OUT on stage with President Trump and absolutely WENT OFF

"THANK YOU, President Trump! And God BLESS you for everything you do. We appreciate you. Keep going!"

"I mean this from the bottom of my… pic.twitter.com/kSnsW9OaHk

 — Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) August 14, 2026

 

WNBA's Gender Circus: Will They Defend Women's Sports or Fold?

America is watching a stunt that was designed to provoke, and conservatives should call it exactly what it is: a culture-war pressure test, not a serious bid to rescue or advance women’s sports. What played out this week — loud headlines, cable hits, and social-media spectacle — has forced the WNBA and its allies into the uncomfortable position of either defending commonsense rules or admitting they have no plan to protect female athletes.

Former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom 

 

publicly announced he is declaring himself a WNBA prospect and says he is invoking the league’s eligibility language to prove a point about self-identification and fairness in sport. That declaration wasn’t a private legal filing — it was a theatrical challenge meant to expose gaps in a league policy that never clearly defined what “woman” means in athletic competition.

Not to be outdone, Royce White

 

followed with his own pronouncement that he will declare for the WNBA draft, even telling reporters he is “sometimes identifying as a woman for purposes of basketball.” Whether you find their theatrics vulgar or effective, they succeeded at forcing the question the WNBA has ducked for years: are the rules written to protect women or to handwavingly protect feelings?

The WNBA’s existing collective bargaining language is blunt on its face: the league’s eligibility section states that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA,” but it offers no fine print or biometric standard that would resolve this modern dilemma. That deliberate vagueness is now a strategic liability for a league that has positioned itself as a social-justice standard-bearer while refusing to define the athletic criteria that actually matter in competition.

Faced with the circus, the WNBA and players’ union have pushed back against what they call bad-faith attacks and convened executives to discuss the matter, saying there are no immediate eligibility issues while also trying to tamp down online vitriol. That response reveals the league’s political instincts: protect the brand, signal inclusion, and hope the controversy blows over — even as sensible fans and former female champions demand concrete protections for women and girls.

Here’s the plain conservative case for action: leagues that cater to women must write clear, objective rules that preserve fair competition and protect female athletes’ careers and college pipelines. If the WNBA wants respect from everyday Americans, it should stop issuing warm statements and start putting clear standards on paper — because when sports become politics, hardworking fans and competitors lose.

 

Sinking Boat Incident: Chaos Unfolds, Facts Emerge to Challenge Narrative

Newly released audio from a July 4 Sea Tow call paints a chaotic scene that is far messier than the rush-to-judgment headlines promised. In the recording, one of the teens on the boat tells a dispatcher that their bilge pump failed and that “we’re sinking,” and he gives coordinates off the west tip of Horn Island as he pleads for a tow. This audio—released by the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources and obtained by local outlets—makes clear there was a real mechanical emergency that afternoon, not an instant narrative.

GPS data released by authorities and shared with national reporters shows the towed vessel was moved roughly three miles and then returned to normal speed less than an hour later, a timeline that undercuts the idea that an immediate, obvious crime happened at the moment the Sea Tow call was placed. Those same records indicate separation of groups and movements that complicate simplistic versions of the story, and they raise real questions any serious investigation should answer. Americans deserve facts, not gossip; the data so far points to a complicated sequence of boat movements and complications, not an open-and-shut cover-up.

At the same time, the audio’s emergence has been twisted through amplifying software and social media speculation, with an audio engineer saying she spent hours enhancing the clip and others insisting the enhancement created misleading impressions. The family has retained prominent civil-rights advocates and attorneys who argue there are unanswered questions—so national figures like Ben Crump and Al Sharpton 

 

have stepped into the spotlight demanding accountability. While their concerns deserve attention, raw emotion and activist theater cannot substitute for sober investigative work and evidence.

Footage and follow-up reporting further complicate the doomsday social feeds: video published by local outlets appears to show the towed vessel without Nolan Wells aboard after the tow, and several friends and family members say Nolan stayed behind on the island and was later separated from the returning boat. Sea Tow itself reportedly said assistance was no longer needed before its crew rendered aid because help had already been obtained—an operational detail that matters if we are going to sort accidental tragedy from malicious intent. These are the kinds of concrete details that should calm conspiracy theories and focus resources on a proper inquiry.

Conservatives should be clear-eyed about two things at once: we must insist on a thorough, transparent investigation into any young life lost under unclear circumstances, and we must reject the rush to criminalize without evidence. The modern media ecosystem loves a tidy narrative that feeds outrage and fundraising, and far too often partisan actors fan the flames before local law enforcement has finished basic fact-finding. Real justice—accountability, transparency, and truth—loses when social-media verdicts and spectacle crowd out sober police work.

If Americans truly care about fairness, we will demand that all physical evidence, GPS logs, phone records, and witness statements be released promptly and independently reviewed, not parceled out to cable hosts and viral influencers. The Wells family has every right to seek outside review and to press for answers; conservatives should support both the family’s search for truth and the rule of law that protects against mob-driven miscarriages. In the meantime, hardworking citizens should refuse to let activists and headline-hungry outlets convert a tragic local mystery into another national wedge—let investigators do their job, and let the facts, not fury, determine the conclusion.

 

CartoonDems

 

Bessent: US to Hit Iran With Unprecedented Economic Isolation

 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Newsmax on Thursday that the Trump administration will announce new measures against Iran next week that he said will take the economic isolation of the country to an unprecedented level.

"And watch this space for more announcements coming next week because we are going to apply measures like have never been seen in the history of the economic isolation of a country," Bessent told "Rob Schmitt Tonight."

 

Bessent said the administration is escalating a financial campaign that began after President Donald Trump ordered the restoration of "maximum pressure" against Tehran last year and intensified after the start of U.S. military operations against Iran in February.

"A year ago … the president gave me the order to apply maximum pressure to the Iranian regime, and Treasury did," Bessent said.

Trump formally restored the maximum-pressure policy in February 2025, directing Treasury to impose sanctions or other enforcement measures against those violating Iran-related sanctions and to conduct a continuing campaign aimed at denying the regime and its terrorist proxies access to revenue.

 

Bessent said Treasury has targeted "their bank accounts, crypto wallets, assets around the world, cutting off payments into both the leadership in the regime and the government itself."

After Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. military campaign launched against Iran earlier this year, Bessent said the administration shifted its focus toward what Treasury calls "Economic Fury."

"We went from Epic Fury to Economic Fury," Bessent said. "And at the president's orders, we have raised the level even again."

Treasury has said Economic Fury has disrupted tens of billions of dollars in revenue that otherwise could have been available to Tehran and its proxies. Its actions have targeted Iran's shadow banking networks, oil industry, cryptocurrency holdings, weapons procurement networks and sanctions-evasion operations.

Bessent said the financial pressure is being paired with the continuing U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

"It will be a combination of economic isolation like the world has never seen before and the continued blockade in the Strait of Hormuz that will keep anything from going in or out of the Iranian ports," Bessent said.

Treasury in July intensified sanctions against Iranian shipping and financial networks after renewed Iranian attacks on international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.