US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned on Wednesday that countries purchasing Iranian oil or holding Iranian funds in their banks could face secondary sanctions. "We have told countries that if you are buying Iranian oil, that if Iranian money is sitting in your banks, we are now willing to apply secondary sanctions," Bessent told reporters at the White House. The warning signals a significant escalation in US economic pressure on Iran (secondary sanctions penalise third-party countries and companies that do business with a targeted nation, not just direct US counterparties), and comes amid heightened tensions in the region, including concerns over navigation in the Strait of Hormuz (a critical chokepoint through which a fifth of the world's oil passes).