Massoud Boulos

Iran sanctions package, UK missile support for Ukraine, Haiti gang attack and Sudan embargo proposal

Off Leash update 25 August 2026 IRAN •U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced a package of new punitive measures against Iran as part of what he dubbed Operation Economic Outcast, but Bessent himself acknowledged that the new penalties were more of a "warning shot" than the "economic D-Day" he'd threatened to unleash on Iran. •The measures Bessent announced are indeed minor. His Treasury Department expanded its ability to punish foreign companies helping five specific sectors of Iran's economy: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping. It also imposed sanctions on over 60 individuals and entities linked to Iran's missile and nuclear programs who were somehow not already blacklisted. And it plans to sanction more entities - including an unspecified large financial institution - by the end of this week. •But the new package stopped far short of imposing secondary sanctions on Iran's trading partners. Instead of penalizing other countries for trading with Iran, Bessent said the Trump administration plans to adopt a gentler approach of simply asking world leaders to kindly "cease their interactions with Iran." •That soft pressure will work with some nations - like the UAE, which announced a total trade embargo on Iran last week. But Iran's largest trading partner, China, has already signalled that it has no interest in helping the U.S. cripple Iran's economy. •Some question whether any level of economic pain will force the Iranian regime's hardliners to negotiate after decades of sanctions failed to change them. Many of them probably still agree with what their founding Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khomenei, said back in Sep. 1979: "No wise person can imagine that we sacrificed our blood so that melons would become cheap! [That] we gave our youth so that housing would become affordable … It is for Islam that a person can give up his life. Our saints also gave up their lives for Islam, not for economics. Economics is not worthy of this." •Meanwhile, Pakistani officials said Field Marshal Munir's recent trip to Tehran had made "significant progress" towards ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. UKRAINE •UK Prime Minister Burnham is using his first foreign trip since taking office to offer bold support for Ukraine. He announced that the UK has delivered technical blueprints for Ukraine to use to build Scalp missile components, and is reportedly planning to visit the U.S. next month to rally Washington's support for Kyiv. •Russia isn't happy. A Kremlin spokesman accused Burnham and Britain of being "hell bent on pouring oil on a fire and plotting to prevent any kind of peace process," HAITI •Gang members attacked a church in the Port-au-Prince suburb of Kenscoff late Sunday, killing at least 47 of the displaced people who had taken refuge from exactly this kind of gang violence. •Survivors largely blamed the UN run Gang Suppression Force for failing to adequately protect civilians or even build a base in the area despite warning signs. The government belatedly pledged to reinforce security. SUDAN •During a UN Security Council meeting, U.S. envoy Massoud Boulos proposed expanding the arms embargo on Sudan's Darfur region to cover the entire country, with the aim of forcing the government and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to negotiate an end to the civil war they've been fighting for four years. •The current embargo on Darfur has been in effect since July 2004, but both the army and the RSF continue to import weapons from abroad to devastate Darfur. Boulos seems to think that a nationwide embargo would be easier to enforce, and he's probably right. •However, an expanded embargo must first pass a UN Security Council (UNSC) vote, and Russia - which has veto power over UNSC votes - has already signalled it has misgivings about a nationwide embargo. [Specifically, the Kremlin voiced concern that an expanded ban would hurt the army more than the RSF.]