US moves to stop Iran from monetising Strait of Hormuz with new sanctions

The United States on Wednesday issued another round of Iran-related sanctions, taking aim at Iran's efforts to, "monetise the Strait of Hormuz," with designations of 10 entities and eight more tankers, the US Treasury Department said.

Six of the entities targeted for sanctions were based in China, it said.

The sanctions followed a vow by US President Donald Trump earlier on Wednesday to hit Iran hard, according to an interview with Fox News, after the US military said it had intercepted multiple ballistic missiles launched by Iran toward American forces in the Middle East. The United States and Saudi Arabia jointly struck Iran-backed groups in Iraq on Wednesday.

Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control designated two firms, the Persian Gulf Marine Insurance and HormuzSafe Marine Services Authority, which it said were integral to an Iranian scheme to extract digital assets and other revenue from ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz through various insurance policies.