US issues general license for wind-down activities in Hormuz as new Iran sanctions imposed

The US Treasury Department issued a general license on Tuesday, August 13, permitting limited "wind-down" activities in the Strait of Hormuz until September 12. This license allows for specific safety, environmental transactions, and cargo offloading involving newly sanctioned individuals and ships. Concurrently, the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) imposed new sanctions on 20 ships, 24 entities, and 10 individuals linked to Iran. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated that Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is "hiding in seclusion while his regime crumbles," adding that the Treasury "will continue using every tool at its disposal to isolate him and other regime elites from the global financial system." This action follows the revocation of a previous general license for Iranian oil sales on July 7, after Iranian attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.