U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on Monday (September 21, 2026) that Iranian airlines will have trouble functioning globally in two days under the weight of American sanctions – as the Trump administration seeks to keep pressure on Tehran.

On September 23, “all the Iranian airlines will be shut down around the world,” Mr. Bessent told CNBC in an interview.

“If they land, you cannot provide them with fuel, you cannot provide them with landing services, you cannot sell them tickets or you will be knocked out of the dollar system,” he added.

The United States and Iran have been at war since late February, when U.S.-Israeli strikes killed the Islamic republic’s supreme leader and senior military officials at the start of a broad offensive.

Tehran countered by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for energy transit, causing global oil prices to surge as the conflict spread in the West Asia.

Earlier this month, the United States imposed sanctions on “all remaining Iranian airlines” that had yet to face such penalties.

The Treasury Department also took aim at targets for supporting Iran’s aviation sector, including firms based outside Iran.

Mr. Bessent previously vowed the United States would declare “economic D-Day” on Iran and pledged to choke off Tehran financially.

Mr. Bessent’s comments came a day after he met with Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng for economic talks laying the groundwork for President Donald Trump’s summit this on Thursday with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

China is one of Iran’s top economic partners and diplomatic backers.

Iran’s aviation sector has long grappled with sanctions, which have restricted its ability to acquire aircraft, spare parts and maintenance services.

More U.S. troops have died ​during the U.S.-Israeli war ⁠with Iran than the Pentagon has publicly disclosed, the Washington ‌Post reported on Friday (September 18, 2026).

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ‌denied the report.

The Post, ‌citing ⁠five unidentified officials, ⁠reported that there had been at least 22 military fatalities, four ​more than were listed ‌in the data available on the Pentagon’s public database.

The newspaper also reported, citing ‌another unidentified official, that not ​all of the undisclosed deaths were directly tied ⁠to the months-long conflict but involved U.S. personnel ‌who were in West Asia amid ongoing hostilities.

Mr. Hegseth, in a post on X, called the report “a complete LIE.”

The Post did not ‌immediately respond to a request ​for comment. In its story, the newspaper said ⁠the Pentagon had declined to address ⁠its questions about the discrepancy in casualty accounting.

The U.S. military said on Saturday (September 13, 2026) that it has pushed back 100 commercial vessels in the past 60 days under its blockade of Iranian ports.

“ZERO ships have passed through the blockade without US forces allowing. American service members remain laser focused on this mission,” U.S. Central Command said on X.

Iran blocked the strategic Strait of Hormuz after the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Tehran in late February.

In response, the United States has sought to prevent ships from travelling to and from Iranian ports to deprive Tehran of revenue.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday (September 12, 2026) that West Asia does not need the United States to be a “regional policeman”, with the two countries at war and vying for control of the Strait of Hormuz.

“We do not need a regional policeman,” he said on the sidelines of a BRICS summit in India during a meeting with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

“The territorial integrity and security of the region can only be guaranteed by its main players and the countries that comprise it,” he added, according to the Iranian presidency.

Iran has been at war since February 28, when U.S.-Israeli strikes killed its supreme leader.

Also read | Dangerous phase: On the crisis in West Asia

The Islamic republic retaliated with attacks across the region and blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil previously flowed.

Iran and the U.S. have since been vying for control of the strategic waterway.

The strait was free to transit before the war, but Iran now requires vessels to obtain permission and is considering a mechanism to impose service fees.

Ships that do not comply are regularly targeted by Iranian strikes, while the U.S. periodically bombs the Iranian coastline to challenge the Islamic republic’s control of the strait.

More than six months into the West Asia war, the blockade continues to drive up oil prices, which soared past $100 a barrel this week.

“Despite all the injustices suffered by our people, we neither desire war nor its continuation. Peace remains our priority,” Mr. Pezeshkian added.

U.S. forces launched strikes on Tuesday (September 1, 2026) against Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in response to attempted attacks on commercial shipping and American forces, the U.S. military said as hostilities flare again after a month without military action.

U.S. Central Command said the strikes “follow recent attempted attacks by the IRGC against commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and against American service members deployed to the region.”

Iranian state media said four projectiles hit parts of the southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan province, east of the Strait of Hormuz, while multiple explosions were heard in the east of Bandar Abbas and around Qeshm Island.

“No incidents or damage have been reported” so far in the southern Hormozgan Province, the state media reported.

On Sunday (August 30, 2026), the U.S. military said it struck rocket launchers on Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran responded by launching missiles at U.S. sites in Jordan, which were intercepted, while United Arab Emirates said it stopped an Iranian drone over its waters.

President Donald Trump acknowledged on Monday (August 31, 2026) that more strikes might be necessary.

Mr. Trump asserted that the U.S. and Israeli bombardment has left Iran “a failed nation.” He said that much of its political leadership has been killed, Iran’s economy is staggered by surging inflation and its military devastated.

Still, Mr. Trump acknowledged that more strikes might be necessary. “That doesn’t mean we won’t smack them,” he told reporters. “We’ll see what happens.”

The U.S. and Iran have been engaged in an intermittent war for more than six months, with the recent lull in fighting lasting a month. A return to open conflict would be dangerous for the region, where Iran has targeted U.S. military bases and infrastructure in Gulf countries since the war began.

Iranian state TV reported the sound of explosions in the southern port city of Bandar Abbas but did not provide details.

Renewed fighting

The renewed fighting also comes after Mr. Trump appeared to pivot last month toward punishing Iran economically with sanctions, with the president promising an “economic D-Day” against a country that has withstood nearly five decades of punishing American sanctions.

The Trump administration argued that it was only a matter of time and that striking the right economic target would get Tehran to its breaking point. But at the same time, U.S. stockpiles of advanced weapons have been diminishing, while the war has been unpopular among Americans and could make Republicans vulnerable in November’s midterm elections.

The U.S. military has tried to cast the renewed fighting as limited. Central Command said in a statement on X on Monday (August 31, 2026) that its attacks on Iranian targets on Sunday (August 30, 2026) were narrowly focused on preventing IRGC forces from placing new mines in the Strait of Hormuz.

“U.S. forces took limited, precise action against IRGC minelaying forces posing an imminent threat in the Strait of Hormuz,” Central Command stated. “In essence, Iran created the threat and the U.S. military eliminated it to protect civilian mariners, commercial shipping, and the free flow of global commerce.”

Central Command reiterated on Tuesday (September 1, 2026) that its attacks only followed Iranian aggression against commercial vessels and American troops in the region.

With AP, AFP inputs

U.S. forces have struck Iranian rocket launchers on the Strait of Hormuz in the first military action in a month, a U.S. official said Sunday.

Semiofficial news outlets in Iran reported sounds of explosions near Larak island on the strait.

Forces with the Revolutionary Guard Corps were observed preparing to launch rockets with sea mines into the strait, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to detail sensitive military movements.

The U.S. military last week completed clearing sea mines from the strait’s international shipping routes.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards vow response to U.S. attack on Larak island

Iran’s ​Revolutionary ‌Guards said ​a U.S. ⁠attack on Larak ‌Island killed ⁠and ⁠wounded several Iranian fighters and ​civilians, ‌and vowed to respond ‌and ​punish those responsible, state ⁠broadcaster IRIB reported.

The ‌Guards did not provide ‌a precise ​casualty toll.

(With inputs from AP and Reuters)