U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said Iran’s foreign-exchange reserves had run out and that its access to the dollar had weakened, as Washington continued tightening sanctions and economic pressure on Tehran while President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Pressure on Iran’s economy intensifies
Waltz said the measures were part of what Washington calls the “economic outcast” campaign, led by U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. He added that the campaign’s latest measures included sanctions and U.S. efforts aimed at completely paralyzing Iran’s aviation sector.
The economic pressure comes as contacts between Washington and Tehran continue. U.S. officials described the talks as constructive and positive, despite rejecting the proposal presented by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in New York to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz
Trump said the United States had already begun opening the strait by force, citing the improvement in traffic. He said 29 ships had passed through overnight, while U.S. officials said about 60 million barrels of oil had passed through the strait in the previous 72 hours.
Trump said Iran had made the offer to reopen the strait after suffering heavy losses, insisting that the proposal was unacceptable to Washington. U.S. mediators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner also told the Iranian side that Tehran did not control the strait in a way that would allow it to set conditions regarding it.
Military options remain on the table, as Trump questions Tehran’s willingness to meet his demands. The United States believes there is a split within Iran’s leadership between a faction seeking an understanding with Washington and another faction it describes as revolutionary and working to undermine those efforts. Press reports said Trump might be inclined to return to the option of bombing Iran after the upcoming midterm elections, with the election results potentially influencing his position.
Fuel prices and the cost of operations
Pressure is mounting in the United States to end the war with Iran as fuel prices rise and the cost of military operations increases, amid concerns that the economic fallout could hurt Republicans’ chances of retaining majorities in both chambers of Congress.
House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Democrats would continue pushing to end the war if they won the election. A number of Republican candidates facing difficult races have also begun calling for it to end quickly.
Trump is betting that continued pressure on Iran will produce results before the cost of the war becomes a major electoral liability. The U.S. administration, meanwhile, says the economic cost remains limited compared with its stated strategic objective: preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
