US unveils ‘economic onslaught’ against Iran

Iran’s top negotiator has dismissed the latest threat from Washington as empty “bombast” US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has announced new sanctions against Iran, and threatened to boot any country dealing financially with Tehran out of the US dollar system, in a bid to make Iran an “economic outcast.”The new sanctions target nearly 60 entities, individuals, and vessels in multiple jurisdictions that allegedly trade in “illicit nuclear and missile technology” with Iran, aid Iran’s “cyber operations,” and move Iranian oil, the US Treasury Department said in a statement on Monday. More than a third of the sanctioned entities and individuals – 21 – are based in China.The Treasury also said it had identified digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping as areas for potential secondary sanctions.Speaking at a press conference later on Monday, Bessent went further, announcing the beginning of “Operation Economic Outcast,” which he described as “an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe.”In the Second World War, D-Day marked the historic beginning of a campaign with our allies to target and drive the enemy from its positions, including thos...