Trump Launches Economic Asphyxiation Campaign Against Iran

The Trump administration has launched what Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent described as an unprecedented campaign of economic pressure against Iran, threatening sanctions against countries, companies and financial institutions that continue doing business with the regime.

Operation Economic Outcast seeks to cut off Iran’s access to international banking, oil markets and other sources of revenue supporting its military and nuclear ambitions.

“Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone,” Bessent said, referring to the effort as “economic asphyxiation.”

The initiative targets five sectors considered critical to Iran’s economy: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping. Treasury officials also announced sanctions against roughly 60 individuals, companies and vessels allegedly involved in Iranian oil sales, weapons procurement, cyber operations and other activities benefiting the regime.

Bessent warned that foreign banks facilitating Iranian transactions could lose access to the American financial system.

“Any entity that facilitates money laundering on behalf of Iran will be removed from the U.S. dollar system,” he said.

The administration also wants foreign branches of Bank Melli, a major Iranian financial institution, closed as part of the effort to eliminate Tehran’s international banking connections.

Bessent said representatives from the Treasury Department, State Department and U.S. military are meeting with foreign governments and establishing deadlines for ending activities that support Iran.

“Those who stand with the United States will reap the rewards of our partnership,” he promised. “Those who tether themselves to Tehran should expect to share in the isolation of a withering regime.”

A major question is how aggressively Washington will enforce the restrictions against China, a significant purchaser of Iranian oil. Analysts say cutting off those transactions could prove difficult without broader international cooperation and raise questions about possible retaliation from Beijing.

Bessent said Iran faces two choices: economic isolation or cooperation that could eventually allow it to rejoin the global economy.

“Under his leadership, America is no longer managing the Iranian threat,” Bessent said of President Donald Trump. “We are ending it.”

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent discusses