The U.S. Treasury Department announced a new round of secondary sanctions Monday aimed at countries that continue to do business with Iran, a move by the Trump administration to exact "economic asphyxiation" on Tehran,
Fox Business reports.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the launch of Operation Economic Outcast, an effort to sever the financial lifeline that sustains Iran's regime, which the United States has accused of using illicit revenues to fund global terrorism.
"Iran now faces a very clear choice, with only two paths before them: complete global isolation and a subsistence economy, or a path back to normalcy with an opportunity to rejoin the global economy," Bessent said during a news conference.
The aggressive strategy, labeled as an "Economic D-Day," targets critical industries such as Iran's digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping in an effort to eliminate the revenue streams that fund international terrorism, Bessent said. The Trump administration will implement secondary sanctions to pressure nations into severing ties with Tehran, while simultaneously blacklisting nearly 60 people, businesses and vessels involved in illicit trade.
President Donald Trump was speaking with several world leaders, asking them for unspecified assistance in helping to tighten the economic rope around Iran, Bessent said.
"We are following his calls up with visits and calls from the State Department and from the U.S. Treasury, telling the leaders, the countries and the entities exactly what we expect and the timelines," he said. "I would expect that very quickly. If they do not respond, then you will see the ramifications of their actions."
