US targets Egyptian bank's UAE branches under new push for Iran's economic isolation

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration is taking steps to limit an Egyptian bank's operations in the United Arab Emirates, accusing the financial institution of serving as an economic lifeline to Tehran's leadership as the U.S. war against Iran reaches the six-month mark.

Under a new rule proposed Friday by the Treasury Department, the Emirati branches of Banque Misr, Egypt’s second-largest bank, would be severed from access to the U.S. financial system.

It follows Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's announcement this week of a new campaign to push countries that still do business with the already heavily sanctioned Islamic Republic to sever their financial ties or face retaliation from the United States.

In stopping short of imposing sanctions on the Egyptian bank, the move signals the Republican administration's reluctance to penalize major trading partners that do business with Iran, including China and India. Bessent told reporters on Monday that he wanted countries to have an opportunity to shift away from Iran before it was too late in a bid to avoid upending the global financial system.

The rule will be subject to a 30-day public comment period before it takes effect, the Treasury Department said.

The administration “warned that Iran’s enablers cannot continue to enjoy access to the U.S. dollar and the global financial system,” Bessent said in a statement Friday. "Banque Misr UAE decided to find out the hard way, and today, we are taking the first step in holding it accountable for its continued, egregious support of the Iranian regime.”

Also Friday, the Treasury Department posted on its Office of Foreign Assets Control website new sanctions on the bank manager of the Dubai branch of Iran’s Bank Melli and a Hong Kong-based firm that the U.S. accuses of helping launder funds for Iran.

Bessent is set to represent the U.S. next week at Group of 20 finance ministers meetings, where he will meet individually with his counterparts from the world's major and developing economies to encourage participation in the economic isolation of Iran.

Amiri reported from New York.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks at a news conference, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026, at the Treasury Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former White House teleprompter operator accused of using inside knowledge to make bets on the prediction market Kalshi has been ordered to turn over more than $100,000 in profits and pay a $65,000 fine as part of a settlement with federal authorities.

The settlement with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, announced Friday, also dealt Gabriel Perez a three-year trading ban. Perez was placed on unpaid leave from his job at the White House after reports emerged that he used his position to make bets on what President Donald Trump would say in speeches.

The White House did not immediately comment on the settlement. A White House official said in July that Perez was no longer in his position but did not say if he had been fired or resigned.

The commission found that Perez made $107,500 on prediction markets by betting on words and phrases that would appear in Trump’s speeches between December 2025 and February 2026.

“In his position, Perez had access to presidential speeches prior to those speeches being delivered and Perez misappropriated that information — in breach of his duty of trust and confidence,” according to a release from the commission.

Perez was ordered to repay his profits in full, along with the $65,000 civil penalty, which the commission said was a reduction because of his “exemplary cooperation.”

As details emerged July 16, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said it was “unfortunate” and “a disgrace.”

A helicopter from Marine Helicopter Squadron One, or HMX-1, flies past the White House after President Donald Trump arrived at the Ellipse near the White House, Friday, Aug. 28, 2026, in Washington, on return from Houston. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)