WASHINGTON — Treasury Secretary Secretary Scott Bessent says the United States is launching an "economic onslaught" against Iran, with a goal of severing every economic lifeline the country has so that Tehran is forced to choose between global isolation and an agreement with the Trump administration.
Bessent said beginning Aug. 24, the Treasury and other federal agencies will "tighten the noose and block every potential source of revenue that funds" the regime and Iran's military.
"We are enforcing a zero-leakage approach," he said. "There will be no minimal breathing space for the regime to rebuild its capacity to inflict terror against America and the world."
The remarks followed more than a week of warnings from Bessent and President Donald
Trump that hefty sanctions were on the way for nations that do business with Iran, as the U.S. shifts its focus from a military bombardment to economic strangulation six months into the conflict.
At a news conference at the Treasury building, Bessent announced "Operation Economic Outcast," calling it "an unprecedented campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran and its neighbors" and likening it to U.S. efforts to end World War II.
"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," Bessent said, "Today, in that same spirit, we are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe."
Nations that have any economic interaction with Iran should expect to share the county's isolation, Bessent said. Treasury, State and Pentagon teams are meeting with individual nations to provide them with specific timelines for action, he added.
Bessent said the United States is also sanctioning 60 entities, individuals and vessels around the world that he said enable the Iranian regime to procure illicit nuclear and missile technology, conduct cyber operations and generate oil revenue.
"This is a sustained campaign to collapse every last option for Iran," Bessent said. "Let there be no ambiguity as to the position of the United States: An economic engagement of any kind with this murderous regime will expose those responsible to the full reach of American power."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: US launches 'Operation Economic Outcast' against Iran
