US says sanctions will 'squash' Iran's economy and 'collapse' its regime

Since then, Iran has largely closed the Strait of Hormuz - the waterway through which some 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas used to transit - causing wild fluctuations in prices on world markets.The US and Iran agreed a ceasefire in April - and then another one in June, both aimed at facilitating negotiations to end the conflict.However, the truce has been consistently broken and talks appear to have stalled but, instead of returning to war, Trump is gearing up to unleash the "most crushing economic operation ever taken against any country".Bessent said the new economic penalties will be part of "the greatest co-ordinated economic isolation in the history of the world"."If you insist on doing business with them, either transferring money, buying their oil... then the US Treasury and the US government will put [their] full might and force towards enforcing against you," the treasure secretary said referring to the US's international trading partners.Bessent confirmed further details about the plan will be made public at a press conference on 24 August.The Iranian economy has long been struggling under the weight of decades of international sanctions, which left it in tatters.