Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Monday unveiled a sweeping campaign of financial sanctions and diplomatic pressure aimed at severing Iran's remaining links to the global economy, but the announcement lacked specific new measures or a timeline for targeting Iran's trading partners. The initiative, named "Operation Economic Outcast," intends to close loopholes in the existing US financial dragnet around Iran and force an "endgame" in the conflict President Donald Trump launched in February. The US plans to add five sectors of the Iranian economy to its target list, including cryptocurrency used by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and regime insiders. Bessent indicated that "total financial isolation" of Iran could make US force unnecessary.
Despite the pre-announcement hype, including President Trump's reference to an "economic D-Day," Bessent's press conference did not include immediate, solid measures. He stated that these would follow rapidly during the week. The program aims for the "economic asphyxiation" of the Tehran regime, largely through secondary sanctions on Iran's trading partners. This approach was likened to an "Economic D-Day," an analogy that some observers found poorly fitting the circumstances, particularly given that Iran has been under international sanctions for decades and the US has little direct economic leverage.
The US is also sanctioning 60 entities, individuals, and vessels globally, which are accused of enabling the Iranian regime to procure illicit nuclear and missile technology, conduct cyber operations, and generate oil revenue. Prior to the ongoing conflict, Iran's largest trading partners were China and the United Arab Emirates. The UAE recently announced a suspension of all trade, commercial exchanges, and financial transactions with Iran. Germany, Iran's largest European trading partner, saw trade volumes barely exceed $1 billion in 2025, with provisional figures for 2026 suggesting a halving of these levels to record lows amidst the war.
