Sanctions

The US State Department's Rewards for Justice offered a bounty of up to $10m. for information on five IRGC leaders, including Majid Khademi, who was killed by an Israeli strike in April.

Sanctions targeted Iranian individuals and companies that facilitated the trade of petroleum and petrochemical products with Iran or supported military action against US forces.

The State Department formally removed Syria from the US list of State Sponsors of Terrorism after the previously announced move underwent congressional review.

Iranian attacks and threats to shipping have already stopped most traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, largely shutting down a waterway that once carried around a fifth of global energy.

India has been among Iran's five largest trading partners, though bilateral trade has fallen by more than 90% from its 2018/19 highs of $17 billion, with exports now limited.

"Any remaining tie to Tehran will hasten the economic ostracism of countries and entities, whether that tie be purposefully constructed or wilfully ignored."

Experts say the Trump administration can also try these options: Sanctions on Chinese 'Teapot' refineries, targeting entities and individuals helping Iran evade sanctions, and a land blockade.

The Treasury Department redesignated the group "for service to the Iranian regime under the command of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force," according to a statement.

The Defense Department did not publicly list the 30 US schools to be reviewed for suspected ties to 130 research institutes based in Russia, China, and Iran, including civilian universities.

"For autumn, I am putting forward the most far-reaching sanctions listings since the start of the war," she told the German daily newspaper, Die Welt.