U.S. sanctions Iran's Hormuz Strait authority, condemns ballistic missile launch at Kuwait

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during a press briefing in the Brady Briefing Room at the White House in Washington, DC, on April 15, 2026. Brendan Smialowski | Afp | Getty Images The U.S. Treasury sanctioned Iran 's "Persian Gulf Strait Authority," the agency launched this month as Tehran works to exert control of transit through the Strait of Hormuz . The action announced Wednesday is part of "Operation Economic Fury," the Trump administration's effort to squeeze Tehran's finances that U.S. officials say has supplanted its military campaign dubbed "Operation Epic Fury." "Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) is a joke, and today Treasury has sanctioned it," Treasury Scott Bessent said in an X post Thursday morning. "We have warned any corporate or state entities against paying tolls or hiding them as aid payments." But Iran and the U.S. continue to use force in the strait, further eroding their shaky ceasefire that is nominally still in effect – and straining efforts to reach a diplomatic end to the war. Iran on Wednesday night "launched a ballistic missile toward Kuwait that was successfully intercepted by Kuwaiti forces," U.S. Central Command said Thursday morning, calling the action an "egregious ceasefire violation." The attack took place "hours after Iranian forces launched five one-way attack drones that posed a clear threat in and near the Strait of Hormuz," CENTCOM said in an X post. "All drones were successfully intercepted by U.S. …