Trump administration announces global economic war on Iran

US Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent has announced an economic pressure campaign against Iran, vowing to target Tehran’s financial interests across the world.

Bessent said on Monday that the US would target all of Iran’s sources of revenue, including from oil, with the aim of preventing other countries and companies of 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 said.

Bessent warned what he called Iran’s facilitators to cease buying oil and trading with Tehran.

He said countries around the world must choose between the US and Iran, stressing that the new campaign exposes Tehran’s trade partners to secondary penalties.

Bessent emphasised that “no one is above the reach of US sanctions”.

If countries and entities “facilitate transactions and are part of the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money, into repression, they will be targeted”, he said.

The campaign is dubbed “Operation Economic Outcast”. Bessent also called it “economic D-day”, likening it to the Allies’ forces landing on French shores to push back against Nazi Germany during World War II.

The economic pressure campaign comes nearly six months into the war with Iran after the US and Israel launch strikes against the country without direct provocation.

While US and Israeli attacks have killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several other top officials, they have failed to dislodge the governing system in Tehran.

On Monday, Bessent said US president Donald Trump has been making calls to world leaders “with 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 US officials said new sanctions will target “five of Iran’s most vital lifelines”: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping.