The United States unveiled new sanctions on Iran Friday, an act which crucially breaks a key aspect of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreement signed last month - namely that no new sanctions can be imposed while the warring sides negotiate to reach a lasting peace.
The ceasefire itself is already out the window, President Trump has said late this week, amid contradictory reports over indirect talks being back on. The new US Treasury action specifically targets an Iranian businessman accused of managing a global financial network for the country's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei
The US is also going after multiple exchange houses that Washington says seek to get around sanctions and maintain access to foreign currency. The three entities named are Mohammad Darbani and Partners, Lavasani and Partners, and Mohsen Khandan and Partners - along with their managing partners.
After earlier boasting that he helped engineer a currency collapse in order to get masses into the streets - related to the last January protests - Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent now says he cares about the "Iranian people"...
The so-called Supreme Leader is hiding in seclusion while his regime crumbles. Treasury will continue using every tool at its disposal to isolate him and other regime elites from the global financial system. We will preserve these assets for the Iranian people. https://t.co/cAtlx2Pplv
— Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) July 10, 2026
The new Friday action is perhaps the single biggest indicator that the United States is ready to abandon
