US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has announced a sweeping economic pressure campaign against Iran, vowing to target Tehran’s financial interests and sources of revenue worldwide.
Bessent said on Monday that the United States would target all of Iran’s revenue streams, including oil, in an effort to prevent countries and companies from doing business with Tehran.
“Around the globe, our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.”
He warned countries and companies that they must choose between doing business with the US or Iran, stressing that Tehran’s trade partners could face secondary sanctions.
Bessent emphasised that “no one is above the reach of US sanctions.”
“If they facilitate transactions and are part of the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money, into repression, they will be targeted.”
The campaign, dubbed “Operation Economic Outcast”, was also described by Bessent as “economic D-Day”, a reference to the Allied landing in France during World War II.
Asked why Washington was warning Iran’s business partners rather than immediately penalising them, Bessent said the US was giving them an opportunity to change their behaviour.
“Well, we are giving everyone the opportunity to remedy bad behaviour. Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?” he said.
The remarks underscore the wider risks posed by secondary US sanctions, which could affect companies and countries maintaining commercial ties with Tehran.
The US Treasury announced fresh sanctions targeting what officials described as five of Iran’s most vital economic lifelines: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping.
The department also sanctioned 60 entities, vessels and individuals across the world, including in the United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, China, Singapore and Switzerland, accusing them of enabling the Iranian government.
Bessent said US President Donald Trump had been speaking with world leaders and making “specific requests to cease their interaction with the regime.”
“Those who stand with the United States will reap the rewards of our partnership. Those who tether themselves to the Iranian regime should expect to share in the isolation,” he said.
The economic campaign comes nearly six months into the war between Iran, the US and Israel, amid continued tensions over Tehran’s nuclear programme and the disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The conflict has triggered missile and drone attacks across the region, while Iran’s control over the strategic waterway has contributed to disruptions in global energy markets.
Multiple rounds of fighting and diplomacy have so far failed to resolve the crisis.
Washington’s latest sanctions effort is aimed at forcing Tehran to make major concessions, including abandoning its nuclear programme and halting attacks on vessels operating around the Strait of Hormuz.
The US had earlier announced a blockade of Iranian ports, but the pressure has failed to force Tehran into capitulation.
Sina Toossi, a fellow at the Center for International Policy, told reports men that the blockade had hurt Iran, particularly its oil exports, but had not achieved Washington’s desired political outcome. “Iran hasn’t capitulated.”
He added that the disruption around Hormuz and the growing economic costs suggested the new “economic D-Day” campaign was an attempt to intensify pressure after the military campaign failed to produce a decisive outcome.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the latest US measures on Sunday, saying sanctions were an old strategy that had repeatedly failed to force Tehran into submission. “They cannot think of any other solution in confronting the great Iranian people, so they repeatedly put forward the same old plans.”
Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, however, said Iran would be unable to withstand the intensified economic pressure and would ultimately have “no choice” but to return to negotiations over its nuclear programme.
The US and Israel launched the war against Iran in February amid ongoing nuclear negotiations.
The Trump administration is now increasing its reliance on economic penalties during a lull in the fighting, although Hegseth warned that further military action remained possible.
“If we need to use kinetic strikes, we’ll use them. If Iran is foolish enough to overplay their hand or mess with the American military, we’ll do what we need to do, But economic pressure, we know, hurts them the most right now.”
Erizia Rubyjeana
Follow us on:
