Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent Monday announced a significant wave of new sanctions targeting international entities involved in facilitating Iranian trade, following President Donald Trump’s repeated calls for ‘an economic D-Day.’ The sanctions, which will specifically target shipping, oil, cryptocurrency, gold, and aviation, are designed to further isolate Iran and ‘sever every economic pipeline’ utilized by the regime. Bessent stated that President Trump was initiating ‘quiet diplomacy’ with Iranian trade partners, warning them of the consequences of continued trade relations, with the U.S. aiming to ‘sever every economic lifeline’ that sustains Iran’s financial connections. He emphasized that the U.S. is engaging in ‘quiet diplomacy’ to warn Iran of the consequences for continued trade, with any entity partnering with Iran facing financial isolation, as outlined in the U.S. dollar system. ‘No one is above the reach of U.S. sanctions,’ Bessent asserted, adding that the U.S. is now seeking to ‘cure’ nations by ending targeted relationships with Iran. Ahead of the announcement, the United Arab Emirates, a close U.S. ally with close ties to the Trump administration, ended all trade relations with Iran. Experts suggest that the success of Bessent’s move will depend on whether Iran’s most powerful trading partners, China, India, and Russia, decide the U.S. threats are credible. ‘If you’re a country like Russia or China,’ said Andrew Gawthrope, a university lecturer at Leiden University specializing in U.S. foreign policy, ‘you’re not going to suddenly stop trading with them – that damages Moscow’s credibility in the eyes of their friends around the world.’ Bessent promised a ‘single greatest financial offensive ever’ in an op-ed published in the Financial Times, highlighting that any country partnering with Iran would also be financially isolated. The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Iran for decades, targeting entities involved in prohibited activities like weapons procurement. Bessent further stated that the U.S. has incurred $37.5 billion in costs, with estimates placing the overall economic impact at as much as $150 billion. Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi estimated the war has cost the U.S. an average of more than $1,200 in higher energy and grocery costs alone. The war has also become a political liability for Trump ahead of November’s midterm elections, with his approval rating dropping to its lowest level of either of his presidential terms. Economists say that in addition to higher gas prices, the war has also contributed to the current turmoil in the bond market, leading to extraordinary intervention by the Treasury Department. The head of Iran’s Central Bank, Abdolnaser Hemmati, stated that the U.S. had ‘done everything it could’ up to now and that the recent claims do not introduce any new restrictions or additional pressure. Bessent spoke to Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament, who, while previously leading Iran’s negotiation team to end the war, took to X. ‘Americans know that no one buys their bombast,’ he wrote, adding that Iran’s trading partners, both in the media and through messages sent to us, have made it clear that they don’t take these statements into account anywhere. Ahead of the speech, the country’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi posted on X to question whether Bessent’s plan was an ‘admission of America’s defeat?’ Referring to previous American claims that Iran’s military capabilities had been destroyed, he said ‘dealing with this very Iran has required the ‘largest financial offensive in history’ and the mobilization of ‘all of America’s institutions and authorities.’ The U.S. is seeking to create unrest in part of the country or throughout the country, and there are many potential pretexts, including issues related to people’s livelihoods, petrol, the economy, and unemployment. Violent demonstrations left thousands dead in January and thousands more were arrested by the country’s hardline regime after people took to the streets to call for an end to the country’s theocratic rule. Bessent was speaking to Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament, who until recently had been leading Iran’s negotiation team to end the war, and the head of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed at the start of the war along with several other senior officials. The U.S. has incurred $37.5 billion in costs, with estimates placing the overall economic impact at as much as $150 billion. The war has also become a political liability for Trump ahead of November’s midterm elections, with his approval rating dropping to its lowest level of either of his presidential terms. Economists say that in addition to higher gas prices, the war has also contributed to the current turmoil in the bond market that’s led to extraordinary intervention by the Treasury Department.
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Source: NBC News
