Trump administration announces global economic war on Iran

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says US sanctions will intensify to choke off Iran’s revenues and isolate the country.Published On 24 Aug 202624 Aug 2026US 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 cal...