Iranian forces attacked an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz within hours of the US…

The sanctions package landed softer than advertised, and Iran answered it anyway. Treasury Secretary Bessent defended the decision to hold off on the genuinely crippling element — secondary sanctions targeting nations that continue doing business with Iran — describing Monday’s announcement as a ‘warning shot’ and a ‘level-set’ rather than the ‘single greatest financial offensive ever’ it had been previewed as. The gap between the billing and the delivery is the story: China publicly defended its ties with Iran in the face of the campaign, Iran’s finance minister said Tehran is ‘fully prepared,’ and Iranian leaders claim a two-year plan to absorb the pressure. Iran responded kinetically regardless, attacking an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz within hours of the announcement. Washington paired the sanctions with a $10 million Rewards for Justice offer for information on five senior IRGC commanders. Meanwhile trade is routing around the chokepoint rather than through it — TankerTrackers counted at least 15 ship-to-ship transfer operations in the Gulf of Oman moving millions of barrels, which is a further reason published transit counts understate real movement. Diplomacy continued in parallel: Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir met Iranian officials in Tehran, and Oman’s foreign minister was due there Tuesday. On Ukraine, Russia marked Independence Day by striking Odesa and Chernihiv, damaging civilian and energy infrastructure and injuring at least 20 people including two children, while Ukrainian drones hit a 130,000-square-metre Ozon logistics complex in Dagestan.