US sanctions Iran’s Hormuz Strait agency, condemns missile launch in Kuwait

U.S. Treasury Iran’s “Persian Gulf Strait Authority” has been approved, the agency launched this month as Tehran works to establish control over transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

The action announced Wednesday is part of “Operation Economic Fury,” an effort by the Trump administration to squeeze Tehran’s finances, which U.S. officials say has replaced its military campaign dubbed “Operation Epic Fury.”

“Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) is a joke and today Treasury approved it,” Treasury Secretary Scott Besant said in an X post Thursday morning. “We have warned against paying tolls to any corporate or state entities or disguising them as aid payments.”

But Iran and the US have continued to use force in the strait, further damaging their shaky ceasefire, which is still nominally in effect – and straining efforts to reach a diplomatic end to the war.

Iran on Wednesday night “launched a ballistic missile toward Kuwait, which was successfully intercepted by Kuwaiti forces,” U.S. Central Command said Thursday morning, calling the action a “serious ceasefire violation.”

“The attack came just hours after Iranian forces launched five unilateral attack drones, posing a clear threat in and near the Strait of Hormuz,” Centcom said in an X post. “All drones were successfully intercepted by US forces, which also prevented a sixth drone launch from an Iranian ground control site in Bandar Abbas.”

The latest military and economic actions come after President Donald Trump insisted he feels no pressure to reach a deal with Iran ahead of midterm elections more than five months away.

“They’re being ripped off. Their economy is going down badly,” Trump said of Iran during a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

“They thought they’d get past me, you know. ‘We’ll get past him, he’s got midterms.’ “I don’t care about the midterms,” ​​Trump said.

This is developing news. Please check back for updates.