&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Economic isolation like never seen before, Hormuz blockade continuation’: US Treasury Secretary’s fresh threat to Iran")
As America continues to pressure for nuclear talks on Iran, the US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent revealed that the United States is planning to impose economic measures on Iran that have “never been seen” before.
Speaking to Newsmax, Bessent said the measures would involve a combination of economic isolation and the continued blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. “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, without providing further details.
His remarks came after US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the US military could maintain a naval blockade of Iran “indefinitely”. Hegseth told reporters on Thursday (Aug 13) that the Navy would continue to rotate ships in and out of the region as it has so far.
Media reports have said the USS George Washington aircraft carrier was heading to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has been deployed in the Middle East for more than 250 days. The Lincoln’s deployment had been expected to end in May. The George Washington strike group departed Vietnam on August 12, the US Navy said in a statement.
Hegseth also rejected reports about deteriorating conditions aboard the Lincoln, including food shortages, falling morale and alleged attempts by sailors to jump overboard, describing the reports as “completely misrepresented”.
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However, US Representative Mike Levin, a Democrat from California, said on X that he had sent a letter to Hegseth and Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao expressing serious concerns about conditions aboard the carrier. “The reports coming from military families and loved ones about the conditions aboard the USS Lincoln are simply unacceptable,” Levin said in the letter.
The letter cited allegations of mouldy showers, broken toilets, a lack of hot water, limited access to fresh produce and supply shortages. It also said sailors and Marines were facing an “overwhelming workload”, contributing to “extreme fatigue and burnout”. Separately, US Central Command said on X that reports of a brawl aboard the carrier were false and that no service members had died.
