WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday announced a sweeping new sanctions campaign targeting Iran’s financial links around the world, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warning governments, banks and companies that continued economic engagement with Tehran could expose them to U.S. penalties.
“We are launching an economic onslaught against Iran’s financial connections around the globe,” Bessent told a news conference. “Our objective is to sever every economic lifeline that sustains this tyrannical regime until Tehran stands alone.”
The U.S. Treasury said it had issued determinations targeting five sectors it says are being used by the Iranian government to support its economy: digital assets, technology, gold, aviation and shipping.
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Washington also imposed sanctions on nearly 60 entities, individuals and vessels as part of the latest measures.
Bessent said the United States would no longer tolerate businesses or financial institutions operating in what he described as the “gray spaces” surrounding dealings with Iran.
“Let there be no ambiguity as to the position of the United States,” he said, warning that economic engagement of any kind with Iran “will expose those responsible to the full reach of American power.”
Bessent also said Washington was preparing sanctions against a major financial institution over its links to Iran, without identifying the institution.
“You will see a major financial institution being sanctioned by the end of this week over Iran,” he said.
The Treasury secretary said countries would be given a “finite timeline” to shut down financial activities identified by U.S. authorities, including the closure of Iranian bank branches operating overseas.
The measures mark a sharp escalation in Washington’s efforts to isolate Tehran economically, extending pressure beyond Iranian entities to foreign institutions and businesses that maintain financial or commercial links with the country.
Bessent described the sanctions campaign as “unprecedented”, signalling that Washington intends to increase pressure on Iran’s access to international banking, trade and other sources of revenue.
